Beware of the new ‘Killer Car Seat’ that is taking SA by storm!
There is a new ‘Car Seat’ which has made its way to South Africa, which does not meet the necessary safety requirements.
The illegal – and potentially deadly – ‘Car Seat’ may be cheaper than the correct child car seat, but it offers parents a false sense of security and does not help to prevent injury or death.
Crash test reveals horror moment ‘deadly’ illegal child car seat disintegrates on impact at just 60km/h
Parents want to protect their children, and when it comes to child car safety, the correct child car seat may seem extremely expensive. Some parents may therefore be tempted to buy a cheaper alternative. Unfortunately, this has led to thousands of unsuspecting parents across the world buying these inexpensive “portable” car seats online.
It is important for parents to be informed of the hazards of using this kind of alternative instead of a proper child car seat which conforms to regulations. Authorities in the United Kingdom have conducted crash tests on these cheaply made and untested “portable” car seat harnesses – with sobering results. These cheap imported seats were shown to disintegrate even at low-speed collisions of under 60kph, propelling a crash test dummy into the front of the vehicle.
To put this in perspective, a proper child car seat is tested to survive impacts at speeds of over 100kph. With the huge forces involved in a car crash, parents must ensure that they buy car seats that adhere to current and tested regulations and standards. Here 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 made aware that any defects and shortcomings of a car seat will become apparent during a crash – when it’s far too late! Parents need to make sure that they buy the correct legal seats for their children in order to prevent a lifetime of regret.