Children's Car Seats

A Guide to Children's Car Seats

A car seat's essential for keeping your child safe when travelling in the car and it’s important that you know the rules and regulations to ensure your children are as safe as possible.

UK laws on children in cars

If you're travelling with children in your car then you should be aware of the rules relating to their safety and use of a child seat, whether they're your children or not. As the driver, you're responsible for any child under the age of 14 years old obeying the law.

A single seatbelt should only ever be used for one passenger, which means that a child should never be carried on someone’s lap.

You can choose a child car seat based on your child’s height or weight, until they're 12 years old or 135 cm tall which is when they're no longer legally required to use a car seat. However, safety experts recommend that you use a child car seat for all children under 150cm/4ft 11in, which is law in Ireland and some other countries too.

Height-based seats

Height-based seats, or ‘i-Size’ seats, must be rear-facing until your child is over 15 months old when they can use a forward-facing child car seat instead if preferred.

You must check the seat to make sure it’s suitable for the height of your child.

Weight-based seats

The seat your child can use and the way they must be restrained in it depends on their weight.

Other legal requirements you should be aware of include:

• If the child is younger than 15 months old the seat must be rear-facing.
• Any seat must conform to the United Nations standard, R129 (i-Size is a part of R129) or ECE Regulation 44/03 or ECE 44/04 (detailed on the label).
• Second-hand car seats must also meet safety standards and you should always check if you're buying a second-hand product that it hasn't been involved in a crash. We advise against buying car seats second-hand.
• A child can only sit in a backless booster seat when they're over 125 cm tall and weigh 22 kg or more.
• Child seats mustn't be used in side-facing seats, only forward-facing ones.

The only exceptions to the above rules are for emergency journeys for short distances with a child over the age of 3, when travelling in a minibus, minicab, taxi or coach without car seats/belts, and for journeys where a third child seat won't fit in the back of the car with 2 other children where the one without a car seat is over the age of 3. Be sure to check out the detail of the rules for these different modes of transport here.

Child seat use rules

There are some other more general rules that you should obey when using children’s car seats.

Make sure the seat buckle is outside of the seat frame so that it's not accidently opened by the seat moving in the event of harsh braking or an accident.

Make sure that the seat harness is fitted correctly and in-line with the seat’s instructions when strapping your child in. The harness buckle should be as low as possible across the child’s pelvis rather than their stomach.

If you’re fitting a baby seat you should make sure there's a maximum of 2 fingers space between their collarbone and the shoulder straps.

What if I don’t use a car seat?

It's a legal requirement that children use an appropriate car seat and restraints and as the driver of the vehicle it'll be your responsibility to ensure they do so. Not only is this a legal requirement but it’s also incredibly dangerous and irresponsible to have a child passenger that isn't in a safe seat.

You can be fined up to £500 for having a child in your car without the appropriate restraints but this isn't the only consequence you’ll face. If you're involved in an accident then there could be an impact against any claim on your insurance and you could face civil proceedings if you fail to safely carry someone else’s child.

When isn’t a car seat needed?

There are a few circumstances when a car seat won't be needed though these are incredibly rare.

If a child is exempt on medical grounds then they may not have to use a car seat, or if they have a disability then they may be required to have a specially designed restraint that doesn’t conform to the normal standards.

Your doctor will be able to provide you with further information on any reason your child might be medically exempt from needing to use a car seat or if they require specialist equipment.

As mentioned above, a child can travel without a car seat when in a licenced taxi, minicab or minibus provided there isn't one available and they're sitting on the rear seat. If they're under 3 years old then they won't be required to wear a seatbelt though you should hold them in place, if they're 3 or older then they should wear an adult seatbelt.

If they're over 3 years old and you need to take them on an emergency journey that's only a short distance then they can use an adult seatbelt rather than a child seat.

If you're unable to fit 3 child seats into the rear of your car and you have 3 children then a child who is older than 3 can sit in the rear using an adult seatbelt or in the front seat using the correct children’s seat. If all 3 children are under 3 years old then the third will need to sit in the front passenger seat in the correct child seat.

Types of car seats

There are 3 main types of car seats that you'll see in the UK and these are:

• Rear-facing car seats
• Front-facing car seats
• Booster seats

Some manufacturers also produce adjustable car seats that adapt as the child grows. If you purchase one of these you should always make sure you're using the appropriate set up for your child’s weight.

There are also some models of cars that offer the option of an integrated child seat. If the seat is EU approved then you won't need to use an additional child seat or restraint provided your child is in the right weight range to use it.

How to fit a car seat

You should always ensure that a car seat is correctly fitted in line with the model’s instruction. Each model has different installation instructions and you should always follow these so that the seat is secure and safe for your child.

When installing a car seat you should always ensure:

• Any rear-facing seats aren't fitted in front of an active airbag.
• There's minimal sideways or forward movement of the seat when fitted.
• There's enough room between the child seat and the seat in front / behind for your child to stretch their legs.
• For seats fitted using an adult seatbelt to secure them you should ensure there aren't obstructions when feeding it through the restraint holes and that the buckle isn't touching the car seat, as this may lead to it accidently being pressed.
• For booster seats where the child uses an adult seatbelt you should ensure this fits properly across them. This includes making sure it doesn’t go under the child’s arm, isn't too high on their neck and isn’t twisted or too loose.

Some shops like Halfords also offer child seat fitting services for you which you can use if you're ever unsure about fitting a child seat correctly.

Child seat fittings

Some booster seats are simply placed on the seat and then the child’s weight holds it to the chair and they're secured in place by using the adult seatbelt as well.

What not to do with a car seat

You should never remove your child from their car seat when the vehicle's still moving.

If you need to take a child out of their car seat to comfort or feed you should find a safe place to pull over and fully stop the vehicle before removing them.

As your child gets older you should also teach them not to undo their harness or seatbelt until the vehicle's fully stopped and the driver's applied the handbrake or turned off the engine.

When you put your child into a car seat you should remove any large coats or blankets that increase the distance between your child’s body and their harness straps. You can still use a blanket to keep them warm in colder weather, but this should be laid over them once they are strapped in.

For more information on keeping your children safe in the car take a look at this guide or head back to our guide’s homepage for more information on driving and leasing in general.