Childrens’ car seats: making safety restraints safer

Car seats for children greatly reduce the risk of a child being injured or killed in a car accident. Parents and carers use child car restraints to keep children safe inside cars. The child restraints, suitable for children usually up to 10 years of age, are fitted in the car and are used with existing adult seatbelts. When children are not properly restrained they are more likely to suffer serious injuries or die in car accidents. Check car seats for children for more information.

Child seat safety standards

The mandatory standard that covers various requirements for the design, construction, performance, user instructions, marking and packaging of child car restraints was last amended in September 2014 . It is based on the 2004, 2010 and 2013 versions of AS/NZS 1754 Child restraint systems for use in motor vehicles. Mandatory safety standards are made for products that are likely to be especially hazardous. In making mandatory safety standards, the government protects consumers by specifying minimum requirements that products must meet before they are supplied.  Safety standards require goods to comply with particular performance, composition, contents, methods of manufacture or processing, design, construction, finish or packaging rules.

CFA has a representative on the Standards Australia Technical Committee CS-085 Child restraints for use in motor vehicles. In 2014 the committee completed the third edition of AS/NZS 3629.4:2014 Methods of testing child restraints – Determination of the force required to adjust a harness which sets out the method for determining the force required to adjust a child restraint harness.

CFA provides volunteer representatives on Standards Australia Technical Committees as part of the CFA Standards Project; if you are interested in finding out more about the Project and/or becoming a volunteer CFA Standards Representative please contact the Standards Coordinator at standards@consumeraction.org.au.

Photo Credit: treehouse1977 (cc)