Money doesn’t buy happiness – and new data reveals it might not buy safety either.
Research conducted by Choice showed seven of the nation’s most expensive prams presented risks of strangulation and head entrapment, according to Choice’s testing criteria – and all but one are still for sale.
The prams all met the mandatory safety standards and made it into stores, and a spokeswoman for Choice has told The Daily Telegraph it shows the standards need to be updated.
Prams costing up to $1700 could still pose a safety risk to children, consumer research company Choice has claimed. Through testing more rigorous than that used to pass Australian Manufacturing Standards, it claims the Joolz Geo Earth $1699 (left) poses a strangulation hazard and the 4Moms Origami (right), $1500 poses a crushing hazard
Choice researchers say the Joolz Day pram (pictured), $1049, could cause a strangulation hazard to children
‘Our current product safety system is too slow to change, too confusing for shoppers, and is putting our kids at risk,’ Stefanie Menezes, a spokeswoman for the consumer research company, said.
The prams that failed Choice’s testing are claimed to present risk of strangulation, crushing, and head entrapment.
Of those, only one, the iCandy Peach, has been recalled.
The tests run by Choice are based on the official standards testing used in Australia, but are not exactly the same.
They are conducted by ‘experts’, according to Choice, who have years of experience and sit on standards committees.
Choice are calling for current testing processes, which products must pass before they can be sold in Australian stores, to be updated. Researchers claim rigorous testing, more than that used in manufacturing standards, showed the Phil and Teds Voyager 1.0 (left), $999 could cause head entrapment, and the Stokke Xplory (right), $1444 posed a strangulation hazard
While seven out of the most expensive 11 prams tried out by Choice failed their rigorous safety tests, cheaper prams also failed.
Last year, figures from the Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit at Monash University showed prams were responsible for sending nearly 600 children under the age of four to the hospital from 2013 to 2016.
The figures were recorded over the three years from every hospital in Victoria with a 24-hour emergency department.
Data from the Unit also showed there had been a 42 per cent increase in pram-related injuries between 2011-12 and 2015-16.
The full list of prams tested and their results is available on Choice.
PRAMS SOLD FOR $999 OR MORE THAT FAILED CHOICE’S SAFETY TESTS
• Joolz Geo Earth $1699 (strangulation hazard)
• 4Moms Origami, $1500 (crushing hazard)
• Stokke Xplory, $1444 (strangulation hazard)
• iCandy Peach, $1249 (strangulation hazard); **
• iCandy Strawberry 2, $1061 (strangulation, head entrapment)
• Joolz Day, $1049 (strangulation hazard)
• Phil and Teds Voyager 1.0, $999 (head entrapment, loose harnessing)
** Recalled in August over a fall risk
All of the above prams passed Australian safety standards, but failed the additional testing of Choice.
Choice researchers claim the iCandy Strawberry 2 (pictured), $1061 poses a risk of strangulation and head entrapment