What Prams Are Tested For Before They Are Sold

Pushchairs vary enormously in price and much less in what they are required to survive. The test regime is a good guide to which failures actually happen, because standards are largely written from incidents.

Brakes are tested on a slope

Parking brakes are assessed with a loaded pushchair on an incline, because a flat-ground brake is trivially easy to make and irrelevant to how prams get away from people. The slope is where they roll.

Brakes that act on one wheel only are more vulnerable to wear and to debris, which is why linked brakes acting on both rear wheels are common on heavier models.

Brake performance degrades with use in a way that is easy to miss. Checking that a loaded pram holds on a slope occasionally is more useful than trusting the click.

Stability is about tipping in two directions

Rearward tipping is assessed because weight hung on handles shifts the centre of gravity backwards. A shopping bag on the handle is the single most common cause of a pram going over.

Sideways stability matters on cambered pavements and when a child leans. Wider wheelbases resist this, which is part of why compact folding models feel less planted.

Recline position changes stability, since a lying child sits lower and further back. A pram can behave differently in each of its configurations.

Folding mechanisms are a defined hazard

Any hinge that closes under load can trap fingers, and standards specify both the force needed to release a fold and the presence of a secondary lock. Two deliberate actions are required by design.

That is why some folds feel awkward. A mechanism that collapses with a single easy movement would also collapse with a single accidental one.

Locks wear, and a fold that has become easy over the years is worth treating as a fault rather than as convenience.

Harnesses and gaps are assessed together

Standards specify a harness capable of holding a child in the seat, including a crotch strap, because a waist strap alone allows a child to slide down and out.

Openings large enough to admit a body but not a head are measured, since that geometry is what causes entrapment. It is why leg holes and footwell gaps are shaped the way they are.

Standards differ between regions and are revised periodically, and secondhand models may predate current requirements. Checking which standard a model was built to is more informative than checking its reviews.