22.07.2014
"It's unacceptable that retailers are providing such shockingly poor fitting services, which could potentially be putting children at risk," said Richard Headland, the editor of Which?
Many of the firms investigated by the organisation have promised to review their training process to ensure child safety seats are fitted correctly in the future.
Children Put In Serious Danger By Poor Retailers’ Safety Seat Installation
A number of retailers that install child car seats for parents purchasing the safety devices at their outlets are failing to do so correctly, new research has suggested.According to consumer watchdog Which?, only four of the 42 stores belonging to seven major retailers fitted the child seats correctly, with some of the devices fitted so poorly that any child placed in them would be in "serious danger".
The investigation found some stores failed to get information about the height and weight of the child that would be using the seat, not enough time was spent explaining to parents how to use the products correctly and a general lack of training among fitters."It's unacceptable that retailers are providing such shockingly poor fitting services, which could potentially be putting children at risk," said Richard Headland, the editor of Which?
Many of the firms investigated by the organisation have promised to review their training process to ensure child safety seats are fitted correctly in the future.
Expert Opinion
The safety of children travelling is paramount, which makes it extremely concerning that so many installers of child seats are reportedly getting the process wrong and inadvertently putting youngsters in danger. <br/> <br/>"Failing to fit child car seats correctly could have devastating consequences in the event of a crash and it is vital that the retailers investigated by Which? take action to improve training to ensure safety seats are fitted correctly, reducing the number of injuries suffered by children travelling in cars."