The aftermarket accessories that these companies manufacture are not regulated by the government. This means that these accessories have not been crash-tested, so there’s absolutely no way to guarantee that they will keep your child safe. Now, let’s say that the third-party company that’s promoting these “safe” car seat harness covers have crash-tested their products. That’s great, but the product hasn’t been tested with your child’s car seat, so you don’t know if the harness covers will work with your child’s car seat, and it’s best not to risk it. However, they confirmed that this is not too much of an issue if your child is strapped into their car seat using the car’s adult seatbelt, as that will absorb most of the impact. But it does mean that you shouldn’t use this device if your car seat is only installed via the Isofix points and your child is strapped in using a harness. Our car seat testing experts were concerned that this could potentially increase dangerous amounts of pressure on the soft area of your child’s abdomen in the event of a crash.

If you’re interested in purchasing car seat strap covers for your child’s car seat, the safest way to do that is to buy them directly from the car seat manufacturer. Their products are heavily regulated, and nine times out of ten, the accessory you’re interested in would have been tested with every car seat that your manufacturer offers. So, you’ll be able to rest assured knowing that their accessories have been deemed safe to use according to the US and NHTSAsafety standards. Furthermore, the warranty of our car seats will be invalid if an accessory not developed by us is used in conjunction with the seat, ie a permanent attachment to the seat. This is because any accessory attached to a car seat would require homologation to ensure the seat still performs in a crash as it should. Therefore we would advise against using accessories not developed and tested by the car seat manufacturers. On the other hand, an accessory which is not attached to our car seats won’t affect the warranty as it won’t have an impact on restraint performance during a crash.'It's useful to have a secure place for a child’s drink to go so that he or she can reach it, to save you pulling over or engaging in dangerous driving while trying to retrieve the bottle. We would advise using one recommended by the manufacturer. These mirrors are popular, but many safety experts feel they are a distraction, and we wouldn't recommend using them. If you want sunshades, try to choose ones made by car seat manufacturers, as they should have had some level of crash testing. We asked Britax, one of the leading car seat manufacturers, for its view on seat accessories. A spokesperson said: 'We invest significant time in the research, development and testing of our own manufactured accessories which accompany our child car seats. This ensures that the accessories offered enhance the consumer experience by offering added comfort and practicality, but doesn’t interfere with the crash performance of the car seats. As a result, the harness straps will be looser than they should be, which could expose your child to higher forces in a crash. If you are worried about your child being cold in the car, dress them in several thin layers.

Make sure any you choose are securely attached, especially as the suction pads could fall off or be pulled off by small children and become a choking hazard. Some assistive technology needs to meet Australian or other standards. Standards may relate to materials, manufacturing and installation. Products that meet Australian or international standards will have written certification. To find out if a product meets Australian Standards ask the supplier to show you the certificate. For more information about standards also see Of course, a cup in the car could fly free in an accident and a cup-holder may not prevent this, so bear this in mind. This product was approved to R44 regulations. However, when we carried out our own crash testing with it, we discovered that the product doesn't keep the shoulder part of the vehicle seatbelt low enough in a frontal collision. The horizontal belt also pulls up during a crash, meaning the seatbelt will pull across your child's delicate abdomen and potentially cause dangerous internal injuries. We believe that using the Smart Kid Belt would be no safer than transporting your child using just the vehicle seatbelts, something that is prohibited for children who are less than 1.35 metres.If the car seat cover does not have this, then technically it will mean the car seat is not meeting all the legal requirements. Our car seat experts were concerned that installing a RiveMove may change the load distribution between the Isofix points, meaning they may no longer withstand a crash. The most important thing to remember is to be consistent, always insist that your child is secure in their child car seat, with the harness fastened. Please do not give in by letting your little one d travel without being safe and secure. We haven’t yet seen any issues with car seat accessories causing problems at claim stage and therefore cannot envisage a scenario where a claim would not be covered.' However, we'd strongly advise you to be careful what you go for. Car seats are crash-tested in the way they are designed to be used, and adding accessories such as chest clips or seat covers that aren't approved by the manufacturer could compromise the seat's safety and/or void the warranty.