Price of a car seat 'has nothing to do with its performance'

Date: 4/6/2010

Spending less money on a child car seat does not mean safety will be compromised, according to a new study by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL).

Six restraints that all cost under £100 were assessed using the TRL Child Seat Rating Scheme, which looks at frontal and side impact along with usability.

TRL hopes to launch the first official set of child seat ratings later this year and it believes the system could save the lives of six youngsters and prevent 95 serious injuries every year.

President of the AA Edmund King remarked: "It is worrying that there is still a significant number of children being carried unrestrained in cars – many from families who simply cannot afford to buy the latest state-of-the-art restraint."

He welcomed the study and said it is important parents have the choice to buy child seats that are within their budgets.

Last month, Gloucestershire's Road Safety Team worked with firefighters and local organisations in the region to raise awareness of the dangers of child seats that are not fitted correctly, Jack FM reported.

Posted by Sarah Bailey