Independent Crash Testing: What South African Parents Should Know

At NOOLA®, we speak to parents every day, moms and dads who want nothing more than to keep their little ones safe and one topic that comes up often enough to deserve a clear, honest explanation is independent crash testing, especially international tests like ADAC (Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club).

Sadly, this topic is often used to sell car seats through fear, implying that if a seat isn’t independently tested by ADAC, it’s unsafe. This is simply not true and parents deserve the full picture; straight, factual and without fear.

What determines car seat safety in South Africa?

Legally, every car seat sold worldwide must pass one of two compulsory international safety standards: ECE R44 or ECE R129 (i-Size).

ECE R44: One of Europe’s long-standing child car seat standards. It groups seats by a child’s weight and sets minimum safety requirements, including specific frontal and rear-impact crash tests. Most seats under this regulation are installed with the vehicle’s seat belt and an internal harness, though some also support ISOFIX. It has provided a consistent baseline of safety for child passengers for many years.

ECE R129 (i-Size): Introduced to further advance child car seat safety and ease of use. It brought several important updates, including mandatory side-impact testing, a stronger emphasis on ISOFIX installation to minimise fitting errors, and guidance that supports extended rear-facing travel for younger children. It also shifted the classification system from weight-based groups to height-based categories, making it simpler for parents to match a seat to their child’s size.

These are the only two regulations recognised by global road safety authorities and they are extremely strict. Importantly, these official tests are already done at independent, certified and non-biased facilities — not by car seat brands themselves.

A car seat cannot legally enter the market unless it has passed these tests. Independent tests are optional and provide additional insights, but regulatory approval remains the definitive standard for safety.

Why some brands use ADAC to sell through fear

ADAC is well-known in Europe and conducts additional testing beyond the legal requirements. But when using this as a marketing tool, leading parents to believe things like “No ADAC = unsafe” or “Your child is at risk unless you upgrade.”

This sort of messaging is misleading and deeply harmful - especially in a country where many parents are already stretching their budgets.

At NOOLA®, we applaud every parent who chooses to strap their child into a legal, approved, safe car seat, no matter the brand or budget. Because that is what saves lives, not labels or fear-driven advertising.

Why NOOLA® has not been ADAC-Tested — and why that’s completely normal

We have never declined testing; rather, our products have simply not been selected. In fact, our manufacturer previously reached out to ADAC due to our confidence in the quality of our products, but they no longer accept voluntary submissions.

noola baby back seat bundle car accessory

ADAC DID Test Our i-Size Seat and it passed with a good score

Before 2016, ADAC allowed manufacturers to voluntarily submit car seats for testing.

During this period, our manufacturer submitted the i-Size car seat, the same design sold by NOOLA® today and it passed with a rating of 2.2 (GOOD), with approval number KF4316HB01.

The ADAC uses a unique scoring scale where lower numbers mean better performance. This is the opposite of many consumer ratings, so it’s important to know what the numbers mean when comparing car seats:

0.6 to 1.5 = Very Good
1.6 to 2.5 = Good
2.6 to 3.5 = Satisfactory
3.6 to 4.5 = Sufficient
4.6 and above = Poor

Our rating of 2.2 (GOOD), is a strong and respectable independent crash test result. ADAC did not publish the result because they only publish tests for seats they select themselves. Because the submission was made by the manufacturer and not under the NOOLA® brand, ADAC never released it publicly.

We chose not to feature this result in our marketing because we want parents to make informed decisions based on clear, transparent information. Our confidence comes from the proven safety and quality of our products, not from marketing exaggeration.

NOOLA® seats are developed with expertise, NOT “Alibaba Shopping”

We want to clear up a common misconception: that brands simply pick a seat from a supplier and resell it. That’s not how NOOLA® works.

We collaborate with OSANN, global car seat experts with over 40 years of experience, to ensure every seat is designed with the highest safety standards in mind.

Each NOOLA® seat combines this expertise, strict compliance, and ongoing innovation—because your child’s safety is never a shortcut.

Safety is more than just a car seat. There are many Factors influence survival

We believe in honesty, so here is the tough truth no one else talks about: a car seat is only one part of a much larger safety picture.

Real-world crash outcomes depend on many variables, including:

Speed of both vehicles
Direction and angle of impact
Weather conditions (rain, wind, visibility)
Tyre condition
Road surface
Driver reaction time
Whether the car rolled, spun, or was struck multiple times
Secondary collisions

A car seat cannot control these factors, but it CAN drastically improve your child’s chance of survival. Our seats have done exactly that in real South African accidents.

We put safety before sales - always.

Our mission is simple and unwavering: we exist to save lives, not to scare parents.

NOOLA® seats have protected children in serious South African road accidents, including heartbreaking situations where parents tragically did not survive, but the baby did.

Paramedics regularly contact us to express relief when they arrive on a scene and see a child restrained in a NOOLA® car seat.

These real stories matter more than any marketing tactic. Our belief in our car seats is so strong that the founder of NOOLA®, Tatum Billson, proudly used NOOLA® seats for all three of her own children.

No parent should ever be shamed for their budget

We will never shame a parent for buying a R1,500 certified car seat. We will never tell a parent their child is unsafe because they cannot afford a premium brand.

Instead, we say: “Well done for choosing a legal, certified car seat. Well done for strapping your child in, every single time.”

Because that decision alone drastically increases a child’s chance of surviving a crash.

Why NOOLA® car seats are affordable and and still exceptional

We don’t inflate prices. We don’t use fear-driven messaging. We don’t pressure parents into overspending.

We focus on what truly matters: internationally compliant safety, high-quality German engineering, real-world performance, affordability for South African families, honest education and a mission to save lives.