What is extended rear-facing in car seats – and why do experts recommend it?

If you’ve been researching toddler car seats or looking into car seats for older children, you may have come across the term ‘extended rear-facing’. But what does it actually mean, and why do so many child safety experts recommend it?

To put expert recommendations into context, it helps to understand the current legal requirements. UK car seat laws set the minimum standard for child car seat use. In height-based (R129) seats, children must travel rear-facing until they are at least 15 months old, after which they can legally move to a forward-facing seat if it’s suitable for their height.

In weight-based (R44.04) seats, children may be able to move forward-facing from around 9kg, depending on the seat group. However, most car safety experts recommend continuing rear-facing for much longer than the legal minimum.

Current rear facing guidance and safety priorities

A new national campaign, Rear Face for Safety was launched during Child Safety Week 2026 to help improve child passenger safety and reduce serious injuries on UK roads. The campaign encourages parents to keep children rear facing until at least four years old.

This recommendation is backed by evidence suggesting children may be up to five times safer travelling rear-facing than forward-facing, according to research highlighted by the campaign.

Rear Face for Safety brings together organisations and experts from across road safety, injury prevention, policing, public health and academia, including the Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT), the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), Road Safety Foundation and Road Safety GB. It aims to help families access clearer, evidence-based information about child passenger safety.

It also highlights ongoing concerns around child road safety. Department for Transport  figures show 22 children were killed and 537 were seriously injured as car occupants on UK roads in 2024. In the same year, 42% of under-16s killed in collisions were not wearing a seatbelt or appropriate restraint.

With growing attention on how children travel in cars, we asked Jayne Caul, Managing Director at Axkid UK, along with other road safety experts supporting the campaign, to explain what extended rear-facing is, why it’s recommended and what current evidence shows.

Register your support for the Rear Face for Safety campaign here.

What is extended rear-facing, and how does it differ from standard rear-facing car seat use?

Jayne Caul explains: “Extended rear-facing (ERF) refers to keeping a child travelling rear-facing beyond infancy and toddlerhood, typically until around four, five, six or even seven years of age, depending on the car seat. While all babies should travel rear facing from birth, many children move into forward-facing seats much earlier. Extended rear-facing seats are specifically designed to accommodate older, taller and heavier children, allowing them to remain in the safest travel position for longer.”

In practice, these car seats are larger car seats designed to support a child as they grow, so they can stay rear facing well beyond the early years, right up until they outgrow the seat itself.

Why do child safety experts recommend keeping children rear facing for as long as possible?

When deciding when to move a child into a forward-facing seat, safety is often one of the biggest considerations for parents.

According to Jayne Caul: “Child safety experts recommend keeping children rear facing for as long as possible because it offers the best protection for a young child's head, neck and spine in a collision. Young children have proportionally larger and heavier heads than adults, while the muscles and bones in their neck are still developing. In a frontal collision, a rear-facing seat distributes crash forces across the child's back - the strongest part of their body - rather than placing significant strain on the neck. This helps to reduce the risk of serious injury and provides vital protection during the years when children are most vulnerable.”

It’s a point that often comes up when parents are weighing up when to turn a seat forward-facing. Mumsnet user, Poobs2022 says: "[…] There is better impact distribution when rear facing so it protects the head, neck and spine […] Sweden have the best car seat testing which is why some seats are Swedish+ tested and they are rear facing seats that go to age 7."

What does the evidence tell us about the safety benefits of extended rear-facing?

Evidence from long-term crash data and real-world research consistently shows that rear-facing car seats offer significant protection for young children.

Jayne Caul says: "Decades of research support the safety benefits of extended rear-facing travel. Sweden, where rear-facing child restraints were first developed, has one of the lowest rates of child passenger fatalities in the world. Rear-facing travel until four or five years of age - and often beyond - is widely accepted there as the safest option for young children."

A recent study carried out by Folksam analysing child fatalities aged 0–6 in Sweden between 1992 and 2024 found that more than one in three child traffic deaths may have been prevented through rear-facing travel. The report also concluded that up to 48% of children aged 0–3 who died in collisions may have survived had they been travelling rear-facing.

Dr Maria Klingegård, Traffic Safety Researcher at Folksam and co-author of the study, says: "Children are not just small adults. They need extra support. A rear-facing child restraint system provides robust protection that is forgiving for misuse, offers synchronised support for the head and torso, and protects the neck. […] It is the responsibility of every parent to make sure children travel as safely as possible, and that means using rear-facing restraints."

The strength of this approach is also reflected in testing standards used in Sweden. The Swedish Plus Test developed by VTI is one of the toughest child car seat safety tests in the world. It measures the forces placed on a child's neck in a severe frontal collision, and to date only rear-facing car seats have been able to pass.

What makes rear-facing car seats safer?

In a crash, rear-facing car seats spread impact forces differently across a child’s body, which is why safety experts say they offer better protection for young children.

• Protecting the head and neck: A rear-facing seat supports your child’s head, neck and spine together, helping reduce strain in a sudden stop or collision.

• Spreading crash forces: Instead of concentrating impact in one area, the force is spread across the back of the seat, which better supports the strongest parts of the body.

• Keeping the body contained: The seat helps hold your child securely in place, limiting sudden forward movement in both front and side impacts.

How long do experts recommend keeping children rear-facing, and why does this differ from the legal minimum requirements?

Jayne Caul says: “Most child safety experts recommend keeping children rear facing until at least four years of age, and longer if their car seat allows. This differs from the legal minimum requirement, which states that children must remain rear facing until they are at least 15 months old under current regulations.

The law sets a minimum standard, not necessarily the safest option. In countries such as Sweden, parents are routinely encouraged to focus on what is safest rather than simply what is legally required, which is one reason rear-facing travel to four or five years of age remains far more common. As our understanding of child passenger safety continues to develop, experts increasingly encourage parents to keep children rear facing for as long as their car seat's height and weight limits allow.”

Is extended rear-facing practical and comfortable in real life?

One of the biggest questions around extended rear-facing is whether older children will still be comfortable, particularly if they're tall for their age. It's a common concern, but safety experts say children often find their own comfortable sitting positions, such as crossing their legs or resting their feet against the vehicle seat.

Dr Suzy Charman OBE, Executive Director of the Road Safety Foundation, reflects on how her own understanding of rear-facing travel developed: “I had been a road safety professional for around 10 years when my first child was born and had never heard of rear-facing for young children! So, when he was about two years old, I switched him round to a forward-facing seat. I was horrified years later to learn that children who are forward facing with a five-point harness potentially face the risk of their relatively heavy heads coming forward in a collision and hurting their neck/spine.

“It really is so much safer to rear face and I’m glad that I was aware by the time my second was born. She, like me, is very tall (99th centile) and lasted until she was five years old in her extended rear facing seat. She found it really comfortable and simply bent her little knees which was more comfortable than having them dangling over the side of a forward-facing seat. I would encourage all parents to look at the evidence and to keep their children rear facing for as long as possible - you may need to search for independent car seat shops that stock more specialist seats, but they are well worth it!”

Long journeys are another concern that often comes up when considering extended rear-facing. As Mumsnet user JustAnotherWhinger explains: "We do six hour journeys at least once a month and I’ll keep them rear facing as long as possible due to the fact that if we do have an accident (they walk to school and most activities day to day) it’s more likely to be a motorway/high speed one so I’d prefer them in rear facing seats."

As awareness of extended rear-facing grows, car seat design has evolved too. Many extended rear-facing models are specifically built for older children, with features such as additional legroom, adjustable seating positions and higher height and weight limits to support rear-facing travel for longer — helping families keep children rear-facing for as long as is practical and comfortable.

About the Rear Face For Safety Campaign

Rear Face for Safety is a national campaign encouraging parents to keep children rear-facing until at least four years old - and preferably longer. The campaign brings together experts and organisations from across road safety, policing, child injury prevention, public health, academia and consumer safety, alongside Swedish child road safety experts, to raise awareness of the safety benefits of extended rear-facing travel. The campaign aims to ensure parents receive clear, consistent and evidence-based information about child car seat safety, helping them make informed choices to better protect children on UK roads.

About the author

Tammy Jacks is a distinguished researcher and writer in the field of child safety, with a notable focus on the critical domain of travel systems including car seats and strollers. Her extensive expertise and commitment to child safety have made her a trusted authority in providing comprehensive insights and guidance to parents and caregivers looking for the right stroller, travel system or car seat for their children.

As a seasoned school runner and mum to an 11-year-old, Tammy has personally tried and tested numerous buggies, strollers and car seats over the years, across all age categories.