CAR MAKERS SQUABBLE OVER SAFETY SEATS AS 100 CHILDREN A YEAR DIE

Safer child seats in cars are being delayed by a squabble between motor firms and experts - while 100 children a year die in crashes.

The deaths, and thousands of injuries to other children, could be prevented if seats were standardised.

But car makers and safety experts can't agree on a new system that would mean all seats could simply be clicked into four fitting points built into new cars.

The system, called ISOFIX, has just been turned down after FIVE YEARS on the drawing board.

And it could be years before Britain catches up with the rest of Europe by insisting on safer standards.

All our present law says is that children under three must be put in a child seat if they are in the front of a car.

If they are in the back they don't have to be in a safety seat, even if one is fitted.

And surveys show 80 per cent of youngsters are not put in car child seats...or are strapped in wrongly.

Many parents don't realise that if their children are sent flying in an accident their weight can be multiplied 20 times - to that of a baby elephant.

Properly used, seats reduce fatalities by 90 per cent and serious injuries by three-quarters.

But parents are not entirely to blame for not putting them in.

Research shows they are confused by the range of seats available, and further put off by the complicated and lengthy fitting instructions. The new scheme would have ended the confusion, because all seats would slot into the special fittings on new cars. But it won't be introduced because some car makers claimed putting in the fittings would push the cost of cars up too much.

Others said car buyers would be put off because they would be too ugly. And they are now going back to the drawing board to discuss a system that uses just two fittings, at the base of the seat, instead of two at the top as well. Safety campaigners are outraged at the delay. Royal Society For the Prevention Of Accidents spokesman Dave Rogers said: "The specialists are going round in ever-decreasing circles. "We must get past this stumbling block - the sooner there's a decision the sooner children's lives could be saved."

Consumers' Association spokesman Peter Tynan added: "The four- point fixing system is already being used in Canada and Australia - and people there aren't up in arms about the aesthetics of their cars."

Richard Lownes, from the Transport Research Laboratory, said: "The car manufacturers were in favour of the four-point system. But at the end of the day it would have been very difficult to produce, both technically and financially." Society of Motor Manufacturers' technical manager Bill Dixon said: "No matter how many instructions people have, some just won't read them and that's the problem. You've got to rely on it being used.

"Not only that, but new car buyers will have to have the top tether whether or not they are going to fit a child seat.

"They may be put off buying by a great lump of webbing sticking out of the car seat. If it was a legal requirement, we'd have no trouble complying. But until it is, it would be a negative sales feature."

Until the delay is resolved, child car seat buying will continue to be a mine-field. But here are some tips on what to look for:

Buy from a retailer who knows what he is selling. If you are not asked about the make of your car, go elsewhere.

Try it before you buy. Good retailers will come to your car and advise you on how to fit the seat.

Never fit a rear-facing seat in the front of your car if it has an airbag. If the bag inflates, the impact to the back of the seat could kill or injure your child.

Make sure the seat belt buckle isn't touching the child seat. In an accident the seat belt could undo, releasing the seat.

Make sure the child seat is rigid when fitted, with no play from side to side or forwards. If you can't get the seat that tight, buy a fixing kit for about pounds 12.

Be Wary of second-hand seats. You don't know if it's been in an accident - which could make it dangerous.

Further information: RoSPA, 0121 248 2000,

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