Wheel Well, a local road safety group that focuses on the safety of children, is alerting South African motorists to an illegal and deadly “car seat” that has made its way to our country.
All parents want to protect their children as best they can. When it comes to child car safety, the correct child car seat can seem extremely expensive and some parents may be tempted to choose a cheaper alternative.
This had led to thousands of unsuspecting parents across the world purchasing inexpensive “portable” car seat harnesses online. These cheaper options offer parents a false sense of security and do not help to prevent injury or death. ( We found these cheap harnesses for sale on AliExpress, the Chinese version of Amazon for $11.16 – less than R150).
Wheel Well is anxious to inform parents of the hazards of using this kind of device instead of a proper child car seat which conforms to EU regulations. Authorities in the United Kingdom have conducted crash tests on cheaply made and untested “portable” car seat harnesses and the results are sobering. These cheap imported seats were shown to disintegrate at a low-speed collision of under 60kph, propelling a crash test dummy into the front of the vehicle.
On the left is an example of the portable car seat harness that doesn’t meet EU safety standards. On the right is an example of a car seat that does meet EU safety standards.
To put this in perspective, a normal child car seat is tested to survive impacts at speeds in excess of 100kph. With the huge forces involved in a car crash, parents must ensure they purchase car seats that adhere to current and tested regulations and standards. In South Africa, we adhere to European standards and the car seat must feature an orange European Economic Commission stamp of approval sticker.
Parents need to be aware that any defects and shortcomings of a car seat will become apparent during a crash … and that will be far too late!
Prevent a lifetime of regret and make sure you buy the correct and legal seat for your child.
If you cannot afford a correctly certified car seat new, get in contact with us at Wheel Well on [email protected]
For those who have used car seats to donate, Wheel Well will refurbish them and ensure that they are safe to be used, before donating them to less fortunate families.
See more at UK’s Daily Mail online.
Source: Wheel Well