Child car seats sold online fail quality tests

NEARLY one third of child car safety seats sold online, including on top sites like Tmall, Taobao, jd.com and yhd.com, that were tested for quality came up short, authorities said yesterday.

The Shanghai Industry and Commerce Administration said it had tested 60 batches of baby safety car seats belonging to 35 brands and sold on 10 online sites and at two stores in Yangpu and Qingpu districts.

They were checked for dynamic test, flame resistance, label and instruction, structure, buckle opening and restraint system. Seventeen batches, or 28.3 percent, failed the tests.

Seven batches failed dynamic tests. On the list were two batches of seats branded Carmind and ZazaBaby sold on jd.com, Babyvox sold on Taobao, and Leman sold on Tmall.

“Dynamic test is the most important index of child safety seats and directly affects the safety of children passengers,” said Shi Shulu, deputy director of the consumer protection department of the administration.

The test simulated the situation of a child sitting on a safety seat and its protection ability during accidents by measuring the displacement of the child’s head, chest acceleration and abdominal invasion.

Six batches failed for horizontal displacement. “Safety seats with excessive horizontal displacement means that children can easily hit the front seats or dash boards in case of accidents and likely get hurt,” said Shi.

The shoulder straps of a batch were found to slip below the elbows that could lead to dislocated shoulder. Another batch failed for broken headrest, a serious safety problem.

Seventeen batches were deemed substandard for combustion performance. “Flame resistance performance is an important index in terms of materials used in the seats because it can slow down the burning speed of seats and protect children during fire,” Shi said.

The substandard seats included a brand Kiddy that was bought on Tmall and had the worst performance. Other brands were Pouch that was sold on Taobao, Beichi sold on Suning Yigou, and innokids sold on yhd.com, the administration said.

The administration has ordered the businesses to stop their sales immediately.

May Xu, a mother of a 3-year-old boy, said she used the child safety seats on highways and elevated roads.

“My son complained that he felt uncomfortable when he was on the seat for a long time. I think the softness of the belts is very important,” she said.

She said she had to take the boy off the seat every hour.

About 18,800 children die in traffic accidents in China every year, most of them for not using child safety seats.