What age can a child sit in a car without a car seat?
Children must normally use a child car seat until they're 12 years old or 135 centimetres tall, whichever comes first. Children over 12 or more than 135cm tall must wear a seat belt. You can choose a child car seat based on your child's height or weight.
Children weighing more than 22kg or taller than 125cm can use a backless booster seat. Children of 12 years old or taller than 135cm do not need to use a child seat. Before this age or height they must do by law. Child seats must be fitted either using ISOFIX mountings or a diagonal seat belt strap.
Car seat laws in the UK state that any child under the age of 12 or below 135cm in height must use an appropriate child car seat while in a vehicle. There is also a list of car seat requirements that must be met to be suitable for use and to comply with UK car seat law.
That said, the new regulations have been brought into place after warnings from the United Nations stating backless boosters are not safe for smaller children, so your child will be safer in a high backed booster until they reach 22kg (3 stone 6.5 pounds). On average, this is around age five to six.
Signs your child no longer needs a booster seat | EveryParentPBC.org
Can my 7 year old sit in the front seat UK?
If a child restraint is not available, children under 3 years must travel in the rear, but may be unrestrained. Children 3 years and over, up to 135cm tall must sit in the rear and use an adult seat belt. Children aged 12 years or more, or over 135cm tall, may travel the front, but must wear the seat belt.
Backless booster seats: Any new backless booster seats can only be used by children who weigh 22kg or more. If they weigh less than this, they'll need to either use a car seat or a high-back booster seat (see below).
All children up to 135cm (approximately 4ft 5in) in height, or up to 12 years of age (whichever occurs first), must use a suitable child restraint – that is, one that is suitable for your child's height or weight. There is a fixed penalty fine of £60 and three penalty points for not using the right child restraint.
What is the law on child seats in front of the car in the UK?
Children under 3 must be in a child car seat. If there's no room for a third child car seat in the back of the vehicle, the child must travel in the front seat with the correct child car seat. Children aged 3 or older can sit in the back using an adult belt.
Simply stated, the middle seat is the furthest from impact during a collision, as well as the furthest away from air bags. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends that all children under the age of 13 ride in the back seat, ideally in the center.
If the car does not have airbags in the front, or if they can be deactivated, or if the car has sensors which switches the airbag off automatically when you fit a child seat, then you can legally carry a rearward facing baby seat in the front. However, it is still better to fit it in the rear.
If you can, put the car seat in the center seat. If not, it is fine behind either the driver or passenger side. The important thing is that it is in the back, away from the airbags. Even in a minor crash, airbags can seriously injure your little one.
Is it illegal to have 4 passengers in the back seat UK?
The law doesn't currently prevent you from carrying more adult passengers than there are seat belts. However, children up to 135cms tall must use child restraints with few exceptions, which means they must use the seats in the vehicle that have seat belts to secure their restraints. This can limit carrying capacity.
The law requires all children travelling in the front or rear seat of any car, van or goods vehicle must use the correct child car seat until they are either 135 cm in height or 12 years old (which ever they reach first). After this they must use an adult seat belt. There are very few exceptions.
No room for a third child seat in the back of the car: If it's not possible to fit a third car seat into the back seat of the car, a child over the age of 3 can sit in the rear – in the middle, between the 2 other car seats – using only an adult seat belt.
If the child is under 1.35m tall then they will need a booster seat or cushion - in this case it's likely the appropriate restraint would be a 'group 3 – for children weighing 22 -36kgs and roughly 6-11 years old', though you would need to confirm this by checking the child's height.
Can my child sit in the front seat with an airbag?
Car seats shouldn't be used in the front seat with an active airbag. The problem with an active airbag is that they are designed for an adult tough body and bone structure.
Your baby should not be in a car seat for longer than two hours at a time. Research has shown a link between travelling in car seats for long periods and breathing difficulties in young babies.
Drivers who fail to ensure children are safely strapped in using the correct car seat, which is fitted properly, could risk a £500 fine. Penalty charges also apply for drivers caught travelling with children aged under 14 who aren't wearing a seat belt while you're driving.
Yes you can. Previously, booster cushions were sold as being suitable for children over 15kg (2 stone 5 pounds), which can happen between 3 to 4 years old. If you have one of these already and it complies with current regulations (ECE R4/04 law), you can still use it legally, even if your child isn't yet 125cm or 22kg.
Having said that, we know that by law children of a certain age and smaller than 135 cm in height are obliged to travel in the back seat of a car in their child restraint system (CRS). The exceptions to this include two-seater vehicles, namely vehicles that do not have rear seats.
What weight should a 4 year old be in a booster seat?
Children at least four years of age but less than eight years of age, who also weigh at least forty pounds but less than eighty pounds, and who are also less than four feet nine inches tall, shall be secured in a child passenger restraint system or booster seat appropriate for that child.
Group 0+ - 0kg up to 13kg (newborn up to around 15 months) Group 1 - 9kg up to 18kg (newborn up to around 4-years-old) Group 2 - 15kg up to 25kg (from around 9 months up to around 6-years-old) Group 3 - 22kg up to 36kg (from around 4-years-old up to 12-years-old)
Children must normally use a child car seat until they're 12 years old or 135 centimetres tall, whichever comes first. Children over 12 or more than 135cm tall must wear a seat belt. You can choose a child car seat based on your child's height or weight.
