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Which? voices concerns about child car seats

10 child car seats are still on sale more than two years after a warning that they might not adequately protect an infant in the event of a serious crash, according to the consumer magazine Which?

At the moment seats are put through a crash test at 30mph, but Which? believes they should be subject to the EuroNCAP test at 40mph, and a side-impact test.

"We are very disappointed that some of the seats we exposed as inadequate as long as two years ago are still on sale," said Malcolm Coles, editor of Which? "We believe simply making child car seats safe enough to pass the minimum safety test is downright irresponsible."

Mamas & Papas supply three of the worst identified by Which? - the Navetta Carry Cot, the Elan and the Passaggio. Britax also makes three - Cruiser Plus, Ranger and Triohile - while the others are Concord Trimax X-Line, Meggy Kombi, Storchenmuhle Starlight SP and Graco Junior Plus.

At the other end of the scale, Britax also makes one of the best, the Cosy Tot Isofix, and the Mamas & Papas Pro Tec was found to be best for cars without Isofix for children weighing more than 20lbs.

Which? believes Isofix, which involves fitting a suitable seat to two standard mount points instead of the seat belts, is safer and should become standard.

In response, Mamas & Papas said: "All our products comply with the current standards. If the experts feel that the legal standards require revision, then Mamas & Papas will be happy to comply with any revised specifications."

Britax added: "All our products meet and exceed the current standards, but we also work to our own more stringent standards." However, a spokesman added that the company plans to phase out the three designs highlighted by Which? over the next six months.

For further information go to: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news

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