ÖAMTC warns of dangerous child seats

The mobility club and its partner organizations are currently testing the current child seats. Serious safety defects were discovered in one model, the Peg Perego Viaggio Twist with an Isofix base.

ÖAMTC technician Steffan Kerbl summarizes: “During the frontal crash test with the seat mounted against the direction of travel, the support foot broke off at the joint from the Isofix base. The seat shell then detached from the base and was thrown forward along with the 15 kg dummy, which could lead to serious injuries in a real accident.” Similar with the seat installed in the direction of travel: Here, too, the support leg broke in a frontal crash. The forces released tore the plastic housing of the base apart and caused the dummy to be thrown far up and forward.

The manufacturer was informed of the matter by the test partners and asked what measures would be taken to solve the problem. According to Peg Perego, the Viaggio Twist received its approval in October 2023 and has only been sold in small numbers since then. Due to the failure of the consumer protection test, Peg Perego has temporarily stopped selling the Viaggio Twist. Consumers who have already purchased the Peg Perego Viaggio Twist + Base Twist (or just the Base Twist) should contact the manufacturer's point of sale or service contact.

Unsafe product on sale – why is this possible?

The frontal impact tests carried out by the ÖAMTC and its partner organizations as part of the consumer protection tests are based on the Euro NCAP crash tests in terms of accident severity. Significantly higher forces act on the products than in the legally required approval tests for child seats. However, studies in recent years have shown that many products offer good protection even with the higher requirements of the consumer protection test. It is therefore not advisable to purchase the Peg Perego Viaggio Twist + Base Twist, even though it has approval. However, a right to return or exchange products that have already been purchased cannot be derived from the poor performance in consumer protection tests. Consumers would only have this if legal requirements were not met.