Child car seats 'fitted wrong'

Children traveling in cars face a hidden danger because their parents have not fitted child safety seats properly, an expert said yesterday.

Should an accident occur, these seats would offer little protection, he warned.

Some 76 percent of parents installing safety seats attached by safety belts do so incorrectly, said Henry Zhu, product director of the child car seat division with major Chinese manufacturer Goodbaby.

And among those using the simpler isofix system, 5 percent still get it wrong, added Zhu.

In May, Shanghai will introduce a Juveniles Protection Law making car safety seats for children under the age of four compulsory.

More than 18,500 children under the age of 14 years die in traffic accidents in China every year.

Of these fatalities, 75 percent are in accidents involving private cars, officials with the local legislative body said.

Many child-safety seats available in the local market, especially those being sold online at cheap prices, failed to meet national quality standards, said Shi Xiaoguang, president of the China Toy and Juvenile Products Association.