Study finds 40 per cent of prams tested posed 'strangling hazard'
Parents are paying thousands of dollars for top-of-the-range prams, but aren’t necessarily getting a safer product, an alarming Choice study has found.
The consumer agency tested dozens of models and failed 40 per cent of them, mostly because they posed a strangling hazard.
In the study, small to big-name brands and the latest pram models were rated for child safety.
“We’re testing the brakes, durability, whether there are entrapment risks, how stable the pram is, and whether the harness comes apart in a safe way,” Choice head of policy Sarah Agar told 7 News.
On a rolling rig for 64 hours, at 5km/hr, Choice tested how the prams mount kerbs, tackle hills and dips, and whether a child could fall out.
Choice tester Kim Gilmour demonstrated how easily a baby could fall out of one model because there was no head barrier.
“A baby could trap its head between the canopy and the seat,” she said.
The study also found strangulation hazards to be a real concern.
“You press the [clip release] button, these two pieces should come away but they don’t. They form a loop which is a strangulation hazard and it is really hard to separate the two,” Ms Gilmour said.
The study also found that price is no guarantee of quality.
Five of the failed prams cost more than $1000 and one retailed at more than $2000.
Several at the bottom end of the price scale which failed the tests cost less than $500 dollars, with one being just $200.
“It’s shocking to see so many prams fail Choice safety tests. That’s why we need stronger product safety laws,” Ms Agar said.
Choice is now calling for a compulsory safety standard that prams must comply with before they can be sold, and it also wants Australian laws to be changed so it’s illegal to sell unsafe products.
5 ‘failed’ top-price prams:
Silver Cross Wave SX2073 – $2199
UPPAbaby Vista 0318-VIS-AU – $1899
Stokke Xplory – $1444
Baby Jogger City Select Lux (single) – $1299
iCandy Strawberry 2 – $1061
5 ‘failed’ lower-priced prams:
Childcare Flip – $200
Joie Mirus – $250
GB Pockit AUS – $399
Mountain Buggy MB Mini 3.1 – $449
Baby Jogger City Tour – $479
