Safe transport of children in cars is the joint responsibility of parents, child restraint suppliers and vehicle manufacturers. Responsible parents and caregivers must ensure that children are properly restrained in a correctly installed child restraint system (CRS) that is appropriate for the size and weight of the child. Child restraint suppliers make certain their products meet local regulations, offer adequate protection and can be fitted easily and correctly in all cars. Finally, it is the vehicle manufacturers’ obligation to guarantee that children are as well protected as adults in the event of crash and that special any provisions needed for children are offered as standard. In practice, this joint responsibility leads to a set of complex interactions and a patchwork of solutions that make it difficult for average consumers to know how their child is carried in the best and most safe way.

In Europe, two independent consumer-oriented programmes work cooperatively to help consumers find the best answer for their unique situation. Child restraint testing is carried out by European consumer groups under the umbrella of International Consumer Testing and Research (ICRT) and the Automobile Clubs. The program publishes ratings based on standardised dynamic sled tests and an ease-of-use assessment, amongst other items. The European New Car Assessment (Euro NCAP) rates vehicle performance and equipment availability for new cars on the market. Its Child Occupant Protection assessment includes full-scale crash tests with child test dummies in child restraints and evaluates the availability and functionality of attachments and provisions for safe transport of children. Collectively, these programmes address one of the most pertinent and persistent challenges in child safety:​ the risk of misuse and incorrect installation of a child restraint system in a vehicle.

Child restraint testing is based on body-in-white setup applying standardised pulses. This set up only broadly approximates real life use in actual cars. In-vehicle testing comes closer to actual crash circumstances, but the result only applies to the combination of car model and CRS type. Both approaches are complementary, and both are needed to improve child safety in cars.