The vigilance of engineers at an Israeli toy company together with efforts of the Israel Standards Institute and the Israel Consumer Council in mobilizing consumer organizations around the world, have led to improvements in the International Standard IEC62115 – Electric Toys - Safety.
The process began in 2011, when engineer Dan Gavish, who worked at Diamant Toys, a manufacturer of products for children in Ashdod, identified safety risks in powered riding toys fitted with a remote control for parents.
Acting as a representative of the Israel Standards Institute, Gavish headed a process of change in the International Standard which faced difficulties with various entities in the global industry.
The Standards Institute referred Gavish to the Israel Consumer Council and the CEO of the Council, attorney Ehud Peleg, mobilized two international consumer organizations – the European Association for the Co-ordination of Consumer Representation in Standardisation (ANEC) and ISO's Committee on Consumer Policy (COPOLCO) to gain support for the standard in every country.
In the International voting on the draft of the new Standard that ended this week, 95% of countries supported the new Standard. The final version of the new Standard is expected to be published in a few months after the completion of editorial amendments.
The new standard will prevent parents, who hold the remote control, from losing control over the vehicle their child drives, and it is designed to solve the following three safety risks:
1. When a child drives the vehicle out of range of the remote control, the parents are likely lose control, and the child could drive the vehicle onto the road. Parents think they have control over the vehicle, but instead, at a crucial moment, they lose it.
To avoid this risk, the new standard requires that the vehicle automatically stops when it goes out of the operating range of the remote control.
2. The remote control of one vehicle can mistakenly interfere with another vehicle located in the same area, causing a vehicle to dangerously stray onto the road.
The new Standard requires that a remote control be designed so that it cannot (accidentally) interfere with other vehicles it doesn't belong to.
3. A child can himself disable parental control via a switch in the vehicle.
The new standard prohibits this option, and now vehicle control may only be disabled via a devise which is in the hands of the parents only.
The Consumer Council and the Institute of Standards have expressed their satisfaction and pride in Israel's success.
CEO of the Israel Consumer Council, attorney Ehud Peleg, said that the achievement demonstrates the importance of the Consumer Council's ties with international consumer organizations. The ability to harness the global consumer movement into coordinated action significantly boosts consumer power, helping the consumer voice to influence the decision-making and standards that benefit consumers around the world, including Israel.
Director of the Standardization Division, Mrs. Helen Atarot, said: "This is an impressive achievement for the Israeli industry that demonstrates the importance of standards. A platform to promote Israeli technologies and ideas to the world while maintaining uncompromising public safety."
