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Talkback: Guide to child car seat laws and safety

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  • Hi bobshurunkle, good point! We've put a line in now, saying when this article was last updated.

    And, just so you know, we do make a point of continuously reviewing and updating this article, as we know how important it is for all of us that we've up to date on the latest car seat laws and safety advice.

  • It is about time car seat manufacturers were forced by the government to upgrade the harnesses on car seats to stop enabling children getting their arms out. Far too easy for them to do so and been a problem since mine (now 31) was a baby
  • According to your article some of the best selling and well known car seat models for infants in the group 0 are not i-Size compliant, is that right?
  • Hiya Vivian5 Hazelann (Reviews Editor) here, thanks very much for your comment. As someone who works in the field, I know how confusing car seat laws can be. We’ve tried to make this article as clear as possible, as there’s so much to think about. The main point in the article in regards to the i-Size (ECER129) laws and infant car seats is that Group 0+ and Group 1 car seats are the only type of seats currently effected by the law. We also mention the time the government has set to phase in newer i-Size car seats, which is around three years. That's to try and make sure there to be enough i-Size compliant seats in circulation in the UK. Until then (around 2018) the older car seat law ECE R44 will run alongside the newer i-Size law, to give manufacturers and more importantly parents enough time to meet the new law.

    In regards to best-selling or well known car seat models, companies are making more and more I-Size compatible car seats, we will be publishing a 'best of I-size only car seats' article shortly. But we have a few articles on the best infant and Group 1 car seats, which includes a few i-Size options, please feel free to check them out.

    On another note, there are going to be quite a few new i-Size car seats released in 2017, we’ll be reporting on that shortly too!

    13 of the best baby car seats from birth

    6 of the best rotating car seats

    10 of the best rear facing group 1 car seats

    Hope this helps. If you’ve got any more questions on car seats, car seat laws or anything parenting that we can help with, please let me know. image

  • Really helpful, I can't find the answer to a question I have about isize and under floor storage compartments. Any ideas?
  • At the BPA car seat conference, it was very clear that there is no intention of phasing backless booster seats out, so maybe that sentence should be changed. It is good to see some impartial and honest information for parents that isn't trying to hoodwink parents into making an unnecessary purchase. Parents who have a booster seat which carries the R44.04 approval number should understand that they do not need to buy another seat.
  • So can you clarify what car seats I will have to use for my 3 children aged 8, 8 & 10 who are all under 125cm please? Will i no longer be able to use my backless booster seats under the new law?



    A link to the draft / pending legislation would be very helpful.



    Someone has told me i could be fined £500 for using my booster seats.
  • I still think more seats need to be available for non isofix cars. Not everyone can afford to buy a new car when expecting a baby or already have kids. My son was a few weeks off being 3 years old and I had no choice to put him in a group 2/3 seat he was over the 18kgs weight limit for a harness and I was told by britax, maxi cosi and mothercare a group 2/3 seat is the only safe option.
  • I think it's pretty poor form that in an article dedicated to car seat safety, all 3 of the children pictured in a car seat are not strapped in correctly. None of their straps are tight enough. It's all well and good having a perfectly fitted seat but if you don't tighten the straps properly it won't hold your child in!
  • Hi Maldej, Thanks for your comment.

    You make a really good point that you need to tighten car seat straps properly to keep your child safe. We source all our pictures from picture libraries and we do our very best to find pictures where the child is correctly strapped in, and the straps look tight enough. We think we've done a pretty good job with the pictures we've chosen for this article.

    But we do acknowledge that there aren't that many 'correct' car-seat pictures available to us through these libraries and we're currently working on ways to source better ones.

  • My 28month old is now 18KG and has therefore reached the weight limit for her car seat. legislation states that all children under 3 must be restrained in a seat with a 5 point harness. I cannot find any that have this apart from a Britax one that cost nearly £300 and only last to 25KG! Any suggestions?
  • Hi, my parents have a Toyota Corolla Verso, which has child seat that you press a button and they pop up. Will I need to get child seats for them to travel in my parents car?

    My son is 8, 5stone & appx 1mtre 25

    My daughter is 6, 3stone appx & appx 1mtre.
  • I purchased a car seat for my grandson, its the same as the one my daughter uses for him to avoid confusion. He is 2 years old, he can manage to get his arms and shoulders out of the straps, which is terribly worrying, when I contacted the maker Joie they said that the pictures i sent them show that it he is strapped in correctly and it is a well known issue that children can escape from their straps.and suggested I purchase an item to stop this. I am appalled if there is an item to stop this happening why hasn't the car seat been upgraded to incorporate this. what should I do?
  • I'm about confused as to where to sit my third child. is it best to be in the front of the car in a car seat or in the rear with no car seat? I can not fit a third seat in the back and she is 5yrs old.
  • Hi still a little unsure. With my 4 year old we had a year facing carseat which connected to the pram base. This lasted until she was about 9 months. We then purchased a new carseat forward facing iso fix which lasted until this year. We then purchased a highback seat which will last her until she is older. I now have a 6month baby. She is currently in the rear facing carseat which connects to the pram. Do i need to purchase a further carseat to be rear facing between the time she grows out it to 15months? Which could be at 9montgs if alike my first born or am I allowed to use the carseat we purchased for my first born?
  • Very confused! I have a 2 year old boy who is already above 105cm tall and over 18kg in weight. We have bought and grown out of soooo many car seats so far. He and his dad fight for leg room, even in our SUV (with his Dad in the front passenger seat), and our son looks and seems so uncomfortable in a 5 point harness car seat, given he is so tall.

    Any suggestions of help are greatly appreciated! Thanks!!
  • please date the article
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