These associations publish the ratings of products in various categories both in hardcopy and online, so as to render them accessible to everyone.

How is a product's rating determined?
For car seats, the rating is a score ranging from 0.5 (best) to 5.5 (worst).
The final rating takes into account two main categories:
- dynamic safety, which accounts for 50% of the final score, and
- handling/ease of use, which accounts for the remaining 50% of the final score.

The rating of car seats was first conceived by the German rating company Stiftung Warentest (commonly known as STIWA) in the mid-Seventies.

Today, the rating of car seats results from the combined efforts of various companies operating together.
STIWA (Germany) publishes the results, ADAC (Germany) performs dynamic product tests, TCS (Switzerland) deals with in-vehicle product installations, and OAMTC (Austria) handles overall calculations and handling tests.

Dynamic rating is made up of two elements:
- Frontal impact: this takes place at 72 km/h against a solid barrier using a suitably stiffened vehicle structure (Golf VI).
- Side impact: this takes place at 28 km/h against a solid barrier at an angle of about 80°.

In both impacts, HIC (head injury criteria) values are considered, measuring the "amount of energy" absorbed by the head of the dummy, the head and chest accelerations, and the neck forces and moments, which determine the stress to which the neck is subjected.

An algorithm applied to these measurements, each of which has a maximum and minimum figure, gives the final score, ranging from 0.5 to 5.5. Each parameter has a particular weighting in determining the final score. These dynamic tests are conducted by ADAC, in Germany.

The tests carried out to determine the handling rating are less scientific but no less complex than those for the dynamic rating.
Rating is performed through 5 steps:

1) Placing the product in the vehicle,

2) Putting the belts in place around the child,

3) Fastening the belts,

4) Tightening the belts,

5) Subjective rating.

A score from 1 (good) to 5 (poor) is determined at each step.

Each step is also put through a Misuse Rating, with a score from 0 to 10, based on the risk of something going wrong and the consequences that this error can cause. The worst Misuse Rating is then used in the final calculation.

Installation tests are performed on three vehicle types - family vans, medium-sized cars (e.g. Golf) and city cars - using volunteers unconnected with the car seat industry or business.

When are new scores published?
At the beginning of each new rating season, STIWA, together with the other associations, performs an overview of all the new products that have entered the market and those that will be presented at industry trade fairs. A list is then compiled of all the products considered worthy of testing.

There are two particular moments of assessment during the year.
The first is a test conducted between January and February on products found on sale in December of the previous year (tests are only carried out on products already on the market). The results are then published in magazines in the month of June.

The second, instead, is a test conducted in August on products found on the market in June. These results are then published in magazines in the month of December.
The second testing has less bearing, as the products examined are far fewer than those tested at the start of the year, and is regarded as a sort of second chance for new or previously rejected products.

Once the results are published, manufacturers can ask STIWA, ADAC, OAMTC and TCS for permission to apply a nameplate on the product indicating the score obtained. This "certified" information is useful for consumers in search of parameters on which to base a decision - it must be said - of vital importance.

Many of us are familiar with the Isofix attachments, those anchor points, often yellow in color, that enable you to install the car seat to two metal rings placed in the gap between the seat and backrest of newer vehicles.

What not all of us know is that, in order to secure the Isofix car seat, one must also use a third anchor point. Many car seats use the so-called support leg.

Others use a belt located behind the car seat backrest that attaches to a special anchor found in newer vehicles. This is the so-called Top Tether.

What advantages does the Top Tether offer?

The use of the Top Tether greatly increases your child's safety, as it makes the seat even more stable and more securely fixed to the vehicle. In case of an accident, a seat so securely fastened will undergo deformation and absorb the energy released by the vehicle, instead of risking dangerous whiplash injury to the child, as in traditional installations with seat belts.
In addition, if the child is placed in a traditional seat or a seat without a base, by buying a car seat with Top Tether you will be guaranteed the safety of an Isofix product, without the need to buy a separate base.

But where do I find the Top Tether? On what vehicles and what car seats?

All recent cars must have the Top Tether attachment. This may be placed behind the vehicle's backrest, on the shelf in sedans, or in the trunk in the case of minivans. In any case, the position is marked by the presence of the logo pictured to the right.

As regards Peg Perego products, you can avail of the Top Tether when you buy Viaggio 1 Duofix TT. We have produced a video on the subject, to explain the Top Tether’s characteristics and installation options in full.