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Frequently Asked QuestionsFrequently asked questions relating to the new seat belt regulations
Your Questions answered.
1. What are the new regulations?
2. Are there any exemptions? 3. What do you mean by "child restraints"and what difference does the weight of my child make? Also what about seat belt adjusters? 4. Why do children need child restraints? 5. When will the regulations come into force? 6. Why are the rules changing? 7. Who is responsible for making sure children are properly restrained in the car? 8. What are the penalties for non-compliance? 9. Does that mean that I may not carry children in just a seat belt if they are under 135cm? 10. Surely adult seat belts are OK for older children? 11. What if I am carrying more children than I can fit car seats? 12. What about travelling in taxis? 13. Can children travel in the front seat? And what about 2-seaters and convertibles? 14. What about rear facing seats in the back of estate cars, or small seats with forward facing seats in sports cars? 15. My vehicle has sideways facing seats in the rear. Does that make a difference? 16. What if my child (or I) has an accident and needs to go in an ambulance that doesn't have a child restraint? 17. What will happen if there is an emergency and at short notice I can't pick my child up from school and have to ask a friend to do it? What if someone else has an unexpected delay and asks me to pick up their child from school and I don't have a spare child restraint? 18. Do the rules apply in cars not fitted with seatbelts? 19. What if there are no seat belts in the rear of a vehicle (car/van/camper)? 20. What if there are too many people for everybody to use a seat belt? 21. Why can't I use a rear-facing baby seat in a seat protected by an active frontal air-bag? 22. Can I use a forward facing child seat or booster in a seat fitted with an active air-bag? 23. I'll need to get a child seat/booster seat or cushion now. How do I choose the right one and how much will that cost? 24. How do I know if my child car seat is correctly fitted? 25. When I buy a new child car seat, how will I know if it will fit my car properly? 26. I have a child with a disability and it's very difficult to get them in a child car seat. What can I do? 27. Can second-hand child seats and boosters be used? 28. My child is under 135 cms in height but already weighs more than 36kg? Should he use the adult belt? 29. What is being done to make the fitting of child seats easier? 30. What is ISOFix? 31. How do I know which is the best child seat? 32. What are the seat belt wearing rules in mini-buses, buses and coaches? 1. What are the new regulations?
In addition, the revised regulations also say that rear-facing baby seats MUST NOT be used in a seat protected by a frontal air-bag unless the air-bag has been deactivated manually or automatically.
* Children under 3 years MUST use the child restraint appropriate for their weight in all cars, vans and other goods vehicles, with the single exception for the rear of taxis. They cannot travel otherwise. This means for example that they may not travel in cars, vans or goods vehicles which do not have seat belts installed.
** Examples. A 7 year old who is 140 cms tall is over the height for a child restraint and may use an adult seat belt. A 12 year old who is 130 cms tall is over the age threshold and therefore may use an adult belt.
*** If no seat belts are fitted in the front, then children under 135 cms in height (who are also under 12 years of age) cannot travel in the front.
In buses and coaches (including minibuses), seated passengers aged 14 years and above will have to use seat belts where they are fitted. Regulations requiring children 3 years to 13 years to use seat belts (or child restraints if they are available) in these vehicles will be brought forward as soon as practicable. The regulations will not include any obligation for anyone to provide child restraints in these vehicles. Bus and coach (including minibus) operators need to notify their passengers that seat belt wearing is compulsory - see the FAQ at the end regarding buses and coaches.
2. Are there any exemptions?
Three exceptions allow children 3 years to 135 cms in height to travel in the rear and use an adult belt:
·in a licensed taxi/private hire vehicle, if the right child restraint is not available; or
·for unexpected necessity over a short distance, if the right child restraint is not available; or
·where two occupied child seats in the rear prevent the fitment of a third child seat.
Children under 3 years may travel in the rear of a taxi unrestrained if no child restraint is available.
3. What do you mean by "child restraints" and what difference does the weight of my child make? Also what about seat belt adjusters?
"Child restraints" is the collective term in the seat belt wearing legislation for baby seats, child seats, booster seats and booster cushions.
Modern child restraints are designed for specific weight ranges of child. They have to meet UN ECE Regulation 44.03 (or subsequent) type approval standard and be marked with a label (showing an "E" and "44.03" or ".03") and the Group number, or weight range of child, for which it is designed. All child restraints that meet the Regulation 44.03 type approval standard are approved for use in forward-facing or rear-facing seats.
Manufacturers use different names for their products so the names we have used below may not always apply and are a guide only. Manufacturers sometimes combine weight ranges in one product so that it can be used over a longer time as a child grows. It is the weight of the child that decides the restraint that must be used.
Seat belt adjusters are comfort devices and not safety devices (check what the manufacturer says about them and their intended use). Only if an adjuster is labelled that it has been approved (and therefore tested) to the UN ECE Regulation 44.03 type-approval standard can it used instead of a type-approved child seat/booster.
4. Why do children need child restraints?
When a vehicle is involved in a crash it comes to an abrupt halt. If not restrained, occupants will have their own crash into the vehicle structure. Restraint systems are therefore designed to help keep people away from the vehicle structure and to distribute the forces of a crash over the strongest parts of the human body, with minimum damage to the soft tissues.
Adults are restrained by a three point seat belt. This is designed for adults and not for children. Children are not small adults. They are proportioned differently and their key organs are in different places. Their tissues have different strengths and weaknesses and their needs change as they grow. Therefore they need a child restraint system to cope with the different stages of their development.
Infants - At birth, the infant head is around a quarter of their total length and about a third of their body weight. An infant's skull is very flexible, so a relatively small impact can result in significant deformation of the skull and brain. The smaller the child, the lower the force needed for injury. The infant rib cage is also very flexible. Impact to the chest can result in a large compression of the chest wall onto the heart and lungs, and some of the abdominal organs. The infant pelvis is unstable and cannot withstand the forces from an adult restraint system.
A rear facing child restraint system is the only solution to provide the best protection for infants up to 13kg weight.
Childhood - The bone making process is not complete until the age of 6 or 7 and throughout childhood a child's skull remains less strong than that of an adult. A restraint system needs to limit forward head movement in a frontal impact and provide protection from intrusion in a side impact. A child restraint should therefore distribute the crash forces over as wide an area as possible. Belts and harnesses therefore need to fit well and be properly positioned as designed by the manufacturer. The restraint system should also provide protection as far as possible from contact with the vehicle interior in both front and side impacts.
The best type of child restraint for early childhood is the child safety seat. The integral harness secures the child and spreads the crash forces over a wide area. This seat will last them until either their weight exceeds 18kg or they grow too tall for the height of the adjustable harness.
Booster seats are best used only when a child has outgrown a safety seat and are designed for weights from 15 kg to 25 kg. These raise the seating position of the child so that the adult seat belt lies properly across the chest and in particular low across the pelvis - if the adult belt is too high across the stomach, then in a crash, serious internal injury could result, or the child could submarine under the seat belt. The booster seat has a back and can provide some protection in a side impact. Booster cushions are designed for weights from 22 kg to 36 kg but manufacturers are now producing boosters with backs that cover both weight ranges.
5. When will the regulations come into force?
The regulations will come into force on 31st January 2007.
6. Why are the rules changing?
The changes update regulations dating from 1993 when many more cars on the road than now did not have rear seat belts. The old rules are generally to use child seats and boosters 'if they are available'. The vast majority of cars now have rear seat belts. Therefore parents can now benefit by always using child seats and boosters.
7. Who is responsible for making sure children are properly restrained in the car?
Drivers are legally responsible for making sure that children under 14 years use seat belts or child restraints in cars and goods vehicles. Those 14 years and above are responsible for themselves.
8. What are the penalties for non-compliance?
A £30 fixed penalty notice. If a case goes to court, the maximum fine is £500. Penalty points are not applicable. In 2004, there were some 200,000 fixed penalties issued by the police and about 5000 cases went to court.
9. Does that mean that I may not carry children in just a seat belt if they are under 135cm?
Correct - the new law requires this for children's safety. There are a few exemptions but parents and carers will need to think ahead about how they, or someone else, will be carrying their child.
10. Surely adult seat belts are OK for older children?
11. What if I am carrying more children than I can fit car seats?
All children up to 135 cms in height MUST use the correct child restraint and therefore you may not carry more children than there are child restraints . However, if a car has 3 seat belts in the rear, and 2 occupied child seats or boosters prevent the fitting of a third, a third child 3 years or over may then use an adult belt in the rear. If there is room, it would be safer for the third child to travel in the front seat and use the correct child seat or booster. See below about air-bags in front seats.
12. What about travelling in licensed taxis?
It is impracticable to expect the right child seat or booster to be available in a taxi unless parents have brought one with them. Therefore, there is a qualified exception so that if child restraints are not available in a licensed taxi or licensed private hire vehicle.
The driver of the vehicle is responsible for seat belt wearing by children under 14 years (except in taxis with fixed partitions).
13. Can children travel in the front seat? And what about 2-seaters and convertibles?
Children can travel in the front seat of any vehicle provided they are properly restrained. This includes 2-seaters or convertibles, even if the top is down. But if there are air-bags, check the vehicle handbook to see what the manufacturer says about children and air-bags. We strongly recommend you follow that advice - air-bags are powerful devices and need respect.
14. What about rear facing seats in the back of estate cars, or small seats with forward facing seats in sports cars?
Some estate cars have rear facing seats in the luggage compartment for use by children, and some 2 + 2 sports cars or convertibles have small rear seats. Child seats/boosters to the required UN ECE Regulation 44.03 type approval must be used on these seats. However, it may be that such seats are certified to UN ECE 44.03 type approval standards which means that they are in effect type-approved child seats/booster seats themselves and therefore a separate child seat/booster would not be needed. If a seat complies with the type-approval standard, it will have an "E" label, with "44.03" or ".03" and the weight range of the child for which it is designed. You may need to check with the car handbook, or the vehicle manufacturer, whether the seat is so approved.
15. My vehicle has sideways facing seats in the rear. Does that make a difference?
Yes! Some vehicles such as camper vans and four-wheel drive vehicles are fitted with sideways facing rear seats. A child restraint in a sideways facing seat does not meet the legal requirements. A child restraint has to be fitted to an approved anchorage, which does not include a seat belt on a sideways facing seat. Therefore a child restraint cannot be used on such a seat.
16. What if my child (or I) has an accident and needs to go in an ambulance that doesn't have a child restraint?
The new regulations will include an exemption for emergency vehicles, including police vehicles.
17. What will happen if there is an emergency and at short notice I can't pick my child up from school and have to ask a friend to do it? What if someone else has an unexpected delay and asks me to pick up their child from school and I don't have a spare child restraint?
18. Do the rules apply in cars not fitted with seatbelts?
Children under 3 must use the appropriate child restraint in all cases - there is no exemption for them in vehicles with no seatbelts in the rear, such as classic cars. However, children 3 years to 135 cms height may be carried in the rear of vehicles without restraints but they can only go in the front if they use the correct child seat or booster.
19. What if there are no seat belts in the rear of a vehicle (car/van/camper)?
Children under 3 must use the correct baby seat or child seat so they would need to be travelling in the front in the correct child restraint. Children 3 and up to 135 cms in height must use child seats or boosters in the rear where seat belts are fitted. The law is not going to make people fit restraints in the rear of vehicles where the seats do not have seat belts; but remember it is not safe for children to travel unrestrained. Cars dating from April 1982 will have seat belt anchorage points if they don't have seat belts - so fitting is easy. See also the FAQ above about sideways facing rear seats.
20. What if there are too many people for everybody to use a seat belt?
21. Why can't I use a rear-facing baby seat in a seat protected by an active frontal air-bag?
Air-bags are powerful safety devices. A rear-facing baby seat could be hit by a frontal air-bag if it deployed - and could be thrown up and towards the rear of the vehicle. This means that the baby seat and child could be completely unrestrained during a crash.
22. Can I use a forward facing child seat or booster in a seat fitted with an active air-bag?
See what the car handbook says about children in seats with frontal air-bags. This can vary from car to car. We strongly recommend that advice should be followed because air-bags are powerful safety devices that must be treated with respect. Children, and adults for that matter, should not sit close to an active frontal air-bag. We suggest that the car seat should be as far back as possible from an air-bag.
23. I'll need to get a child seat/booster seat or cushion now. How do I choose the right one and how much will that cost?
24. How do I know if my child car seat is correctly fitted?
25. When I buy a new child car seat, how will I know if it will fit my car properly?
Try before you buy. Some retailers offer a service demonstrating how to fit a child seat which will also check whether it fits. Manufacturers' web-sites may have advice.
26. I have a child with a disability and it's very difficult to get them in a child car seat. What can I do?
Child seats are available that are designed specifically for children with disabilities. Advice can be obtained from the manufacturers of child seats or from specialist retailers of child seats.
27. Can second-hand child seats and boosters be used?
Beware of second-hand child seats. Are they the up-to-date UN ECE 44.03 or later standard? Do they have the correct fittings and instructions, and have they been in a crash already?
28. My child is under 135 cms in height but already weighs more than 36kg? Should he use the adult belt?
No. The legislation is clear that height is the measure to decide whether to move up to the adult belt. Using a booster cushion and the adult belt even if a child is over 36kg is far better than using the adult belt alone.
29. What is being done to make the fitting of child seats easier?
Child seat manufacturers try to provide good instructions with their products. Retailers will often be able to demonstrate how they need to be fitted. The arrival of ISOFix will mean that the task will be easier in the future.
30. What is ISOFix?
31. How do I know which is the best child seat?
The best child seat is one that is right for the weight of the child and is correctly fitted as instructed by the manufacturer.
32. What are the seat belt wearing rules in mini-buses, buses and coaches?
(a) an official announcement, or an audio-visual presentation, made when the passenger joins the bus or within a reasonable time of his doing so;
· (b) a sign prominently displayed at each passenger seat equipped with a seat belt.
·An "official announcement" means one by the driver, by a conductor or courier or by a group leader of any passengers on the vehicle.
·A sign that takes the form of a pictorial symbol must be in the agreed form depicting a white figure on a blue background.
The Departments letter of 16th August 2006 to operators explains all this in greater detail. This is available on-line at: ·www.roadsafetyni.gov.uk/consultations-MainDetails.htm?id=con70
There is nothing in law to prevent child restraints being used if they fit in a bus or coach. However, these vehicles may only have lap belts and most child seats need lap and diagonal belts in order to be secured. In addition, the seats in these vehicles may be the wrong proportions for child restraints.
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