6yr old DD not in carseat

[Sunsparkles]

My youngest is 6yrs and about 125cm tall. It is a legal requirement (UK) for her to (at the very least) use a booster seat while in a car.

My kids are just back from their dads, and they have told me that my youngest has been driven in my exh's gf's car (in the front seat!!) and exh's gf's sisters car more than once and has not been on a booster seat. Apparently gf said it wasn't a legal requirement and was ok as it wasn't far anyway (one journey was at least 30miles!).

I am fuming!! AIBU to be so upset about this? Also, assuming I'm not over-reacting what would you do about this? I have had to speak to my exH before about our DD not being in a car seat when in his care. We do not have an amicable relationship and parallel parent with me being the resident parent (about 70% with me).

Why isn't this posting?

It's illegal for them to do this if they are making regular car journeys. There is provision in the law to transport children in emergencys without using car seats and you can do so in taxis (or you used to be able to) but certainly not if they are doing so regularly in their own vehicle.

Children must normally use a child car seat until they’re 12 years old or 135 centimetres tall, whichever comes first.

She definitely still needs the booster. Remind your ex that she still needs one. They are very portable!

I'd hope that the gf's sister just has a genuine misunderstanding of the law. It would be very embarrassing to be stopped by the police with a child in the front seat with no booster.

Do you message/text him? Without confronting him over how dangerous it is, I’d ask him about what happened and say your DD said she was in the front, didn’t have a car seat etc. Once you’ve got a response from him in writing that he allowed that, you can send a response saying that this isn’t the first time he’s not used a car seat with your DD, you’ve already talked to him about it, this isn’t a one off, he’s doing it regularly and if it happens again you will report the driver.

That’s what happens without a booster.

She does legally need it until 135cm minimum or age 12, whichever comes first. There is no law about sitting in the front in the UK though, unless it's considered an emergency scenario where it's OK for a child to travel without a booster seat - then they must be in the back. ("Just going around the corner" doesn't count as emergency travel).

I think some people are genuinely unaware of the booster seat law for primary aged children - it's been long enough since the law changed to say you do need a booster seat up to age 12/135cm (2003) that a lot of people have totally forgotten, or did not realise that change ever happened, especially if it was completely irrelevant to them at the time - no DC yet and too old/tall for it to affect them as children. (So, people now in their 30s/40s). Whereas the law for babies and toddlers to need car seats has been around for so long (1989) that it's very rare you find anyone unaware of that - we just take it for granted that obviously you need them, because unless you're over 50, it's likely that almost every memory you have of sharing a car with babies or toddlers involved a car seat, and if you are over 50 then you probably remember the shift.

You could let them know it's up to a £400 fine. OTOH, dad's GF might have said that just to get your DD to stop worrying, and not actually have had a clue what the law is and not be interested to find out.