Children's Car Seat Safety Tips and Advice
Children should be protected by ensuring a correctly fitted
child car seat appropriate for their weight and height, which
meets current safety regulations, is fitted.
Always ask where possible to try the seat before purchasing,
and ask for a demonstration on the correct procedure for fitting
the seat by a trained professional.
The manufacturers fitting instructions should always be
followed when fitting a Childs car seat.
It's a good idea to keep a copy of the fitting instructions
in your car(s) so they are always available when needed.
Never attempt to modify a Childs car seat or vehicles seat
belt in order to try and make it fit.
If you are having difficulties, refer to the manufactures
fitting instructions and the cars handbook for advice. If in
doubt call the manufacturer's helpline, speak to your local Road
Safety Officer or contact the trained professional staff from
where you purchased the child car seat.
Always allow plenty of time to not only fit children's car
seats correctly in the vehicle, but also the children securely
in their seats.
Ensure that the children's car seat belts are adjusted
properly on every trip, and don't forget the adults too. By law,
seat belts must be worn if fitted to the vehicle.
Children must not sit in the front seat unless the correct
child car seat is fitted, or seat belt if over 135cm.
By law, children under 3 years old must NOT travel in a car
or goods vehicle unless they are in the correct baby/child seat.
By law, you must NOT place a rear-facing child seat in a seat
in a front seat where there is an active airbag. Forward-facing
restraints should be moved as far back from the airbag as
possible.
Children's car seats are usually designed for different
weights ranges of children.
If you or your children have been involved in a road accident
you may be able to make a compensation claim. For more
information on our "no win no fee" claims service select our
road accident claims
page. For more information on child car seat safety visit the
Royal Society for the
prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). Variable s
As a general guide only: - Baby seats are
for children up to 13kgs, or children who can not support their
heads by their selves, usually between birth and 9 to 12 months.
They can be fitted using the seat belts in the front or back
seat of the car facing backwards.
They must not be used in the front of a vehicle if it is
protected by an airbag.
Child car seats are for children between 9kgs and 18kgs and
who can support their own heads unaided, usually between 9 to
12months and around 4 years old.
They are usually fitted using the seat belts into the rear of
the car facing forwards, and have their own restraining belts.
Booster seats are for children between 15kgs and 25kgs,
usually between 4 and 6 years old.
They utilise the adult seat belts across the chest and lower
abdomen by raising the child to a safe height for the seat belts
to function correctly as they would with an adult. Booster
cushions are for children between 25kgs and 35kgs, usually 6
years old and over.
They also utilise the adult seat belts across the chest and
lower abdomen by raising the child to a safe height for the seat
belts to function correctly as they would with an adult. These
are only a rough guide, and the manufacturer's guidelines should
always be followed. In 2006, 26 children aged 0-11 were killed
and 277 seriously injured in cars.
The number of 0-3 year olds killed was 10; seriously injured
82 and 1,248 were slightly injured in cars. The number of 4-11
year olds killed was 16; seriously injured 195 and 4,899 were
slightly injured.
In 2006, the Transport Research Laboratory conducted a survey
which showed that 2% of 0-4 year olds were not restrained in any
way in the rear of cars and 11% of 5-13 were not restrained at
all in the rear.
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