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Car seats

Confused about car seat regulations? Find baby car seat advice here. For Mumsnetter-approved essentials, sign up for Mumsnet Swears By emails here.

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Original poster

Did everyone know that car seat rules are changing, starting with the age 4+ style but working its way down?

66 replies

PrincessScrumpy · 10/10/2011 10:07

I went to Halfords yesterday as dd is getting near the stage for a new seat - she's 3.5 and tall. The expert there actually seemed to know his stuff and said he only had 2 seats that fitted the new laws that are coming in regarding the side impact protection - luckily one was maxi cosi which was the brand I want to stick with.

Anyway, he also said that the seat dd is currently is is likely to not meet the laws in a year's time as they are changing the side impact in those (I was planning to use the seat for one of my twins in a year!), he said the law may not be in by then but new seats will be slightly wider to accomodate the side impact "air bags". It would mean I will struggle to get 3 seats along the back row of the car and I have a VW Touran - surely that will have a massive affect for everyone!?

Of course I want my dds to be as safe as possible but I also don't want to drive a bus or put dd1 in the seats in the boot - too far away for long journeys and seems unnecessary.

Basic booster seats will be banned too.

Has anyone heard anything different?

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scarevola · 15/10/2011 16:33

Booster cushions are very useful for older children (trying to imagine my 10 year old in a high back!) It would be a pity if they were phased out completely.

That they are approved for use from as small as 15kgs did surprise me.

lenats31 · 16/10/2011 16:28

"Booster cushions are very useful for older children (trying to imagine my 10 year old in a high back!) It would be a pity if they were phased out completely."

Why?

scarevola · 16/10/2011 17:32

I was imagining him travelling in it, because I know what it was like when I tried it for size. He's too tall for a high back (the side protection is too low down and the angle of the seat belt wrong). This is not uncommon for children who are close to or (in his case) over the height as specified in legislation.

He is much, much better off with a booster cushion as it makes the adult belt hold him properly.

Hulababy · 16/10/2011 17:40

I would prefer they left booster cushions on the market but advertised them for older children only.

My DD is 9y and now tall enough for no car seat at all. However, the car seat belt is still a tad low on her neck imo and can make it uncomfortable - and in an accident could cut into her neck and not be a correctly placed as it could be. Most high back boosters are a bit short for her now, and not that comfortable for a child of this age/height. However, I can still have her on a booster cushion - this then raises her slightly and means the seatbelt fits better across her.

So whilst the booster itself doesn't offer protecttion it does raise her in the seat meaning that the seatbelt in the car can offer better protection.

No booster cushion would mean she was less effectively protected imo as she'd end up with no car seat at all.

lenats31 · 16/10/2011 17:44

While they are better than nothing, for those who can´t bend their legs over the egde of the seat or the beltfit is poor - even after you have adjusted the height of the seatbelt on the wall in the car, they just don´t provide sufficient protection in a side impact crash.

If side impact is introduced in the ECE R 44, these cushions will be banned. The plan so far is to add side impact protection to the ECE R 44 standard.

Hulababy · 16/10/2011 17:47

But I am talking about children who are over the car seat height anyway - so the alternative for many of these children will be no car seat at all and just the seat belt - which will then be at an uncomofrtable and higher position that it ought to me, so these children will actually be worse off if the seats are banned.

Hulababy · 16/10/2011 17:47

And will this then affect cars which have inbuilt booster cushion seats?

scarevola · 16/10/2011 18:01

Hulababy: I agree with you. For children who are close to or just over the legislated height, they are the best option (about 130-150cms).

lenats31 · 16/10/2011 18:05

The entire anatomy of older children is far stronger than that of young children. See if you can adjust the height of your seatbelt. Also see if the child can bend his or her legs comfortably over the egde of the rearseat cushion. The children who can´t will probably push their rear forwards causing the shoulderbelt to sit too high up

Will inbuilt boosters be banned - only if the rearseat back does not provide any side impact protection. Some cars have these boosters as well as sides like a highback booster and headwings on the headrests. this type of rearseat is new, but there.

startail · 16/10/2011 18:12

For those of us with normal cars, bister seats really were the only option on days when you need to get 3 people on the back seat. Fortunately my DDs are both now over the hight limit for car seats, but no way would I want a people carrier to do the school run my petrol bill is horrific as it is.

startail · 16/10/2011 18:13

Sorry iPod has it in for me today booster

lenats31 · 16/10/2011 18:20

I drive a Peugeot 307SW, and I have fitted three seats across several times. The problem is with three forwardfacing ones across, is getting your hands down to fasten the seatbelt on the children that use boosters. You are also likely to face trouble with 3 forwardfacingseats acrosswhen you are installing them if all of them are fitted with the seatbelt.

having at least one rearfacing seat solves the problems to a large degree.

lenats31 · 16/10/2011 18:22

OH startail if only you knew how many times I have written "chickens" instead of "kittens. on my phone (big grin)

cece · 16/10/2011 18:23

I thought that once they got to 134 cm they didn't need any kind of car seat? I am a bit confused buy the `34-150 cm category to which people are referring.

SurprisEs · 16/10/2011 18:24

Cannot wait for basic boosters to be banned! Great.

Cannot comment on the rest until I have read more.

Hulababy · 16/10/2011 18:25

My car seatbelts cannot be altered so I can't reduce the height of them. And at only 5 foot myself I know what it feels like when you have the car seat hitting your neck. This happens a lot to me at 5 foot.

I would still like to see booster cushions available for older children who are on the threshold of the height limit or just over but have the car seatbelt issue. IMO it is far better for DD to have a booster cushion than no car seat at all for as long as we can get away with it. But most hbb are too short now so that option isn't really available for many children at this height.

I assume however it won't be illegal to use them, just to sell them - so many people will still have them available to use in such situations for the short term at least.

SecretNutellaFix · 16/10/2011 18:26

Cece- the only reason the UK height restriction is 135cm and not 150cm is because it was assumed that it would be too hard a job to get parents to use them up until that height and 135cm was a suitable compromise.

Hulababy · 16/10/2011 18:27

cece - I am referring to children like DD - who can legally have no car seat. but I prefer her to use a cushion to raise her slightly so that the car's seatbelt fits better ocross her and therefore making it more effective.

scarevola · 16/10/2011 18:29

It's not a legislated category.

It's a rough stab at describing the height of a child who is too tall for all current high-back seats, but too short for some adult seat belt fixtures. These are the children for whom a booster cushion is a very good option (in response to a question earlier in the thread). These children would not be made safer if booster cushions became unavailable.

SurprisEs · 16/10/2011 18:30

This halfords assistant sounds like my kind of guy! I used to hate when I had to reluctantly sell the horrible unsafe but legal seats at times to people who thought I simply wanted to get more money out of them. Nope, I just cared.

cece · 16/10/2011 18:30

Oh I thought it was 134! So is it 135?

I must say I have used booster cushions for a while prior to them reaching 135 cm. I still keep a couple in boot for whenever we are giving their friends lifts. I had no idea you were supposed to keep them on their booster till 150cm...

I just assumed that as that was the law then it was considered a safe height

cece · 16/10/2011 18:32

DS1 couldn't fit into his high backed booster at quite a young age. He has short legs but very long body and even on the highest setting it dug into his shoulders. So I just took it off and he was much more comfortable on his booster cushion...

SurprisEs · 16/10/2011 18:33

I'm assuming that hbb would be altered to cater for taller children. Or hoping.

scarevola · 16/10/2011 18:34

You don't have to - it all depends on what you decide in the light of your child's size and the fittings in your car. My 10 year old happens to be in a safer position on a booster cushion than without, but he is definitely tok tall for a high-back.

SecretNutellaFix · 16/10/2011 18:37

Some do extend quite a way- the Britax adventure comes up quite high. We had one of our colleagues sit in it and she was fine at 5'2", except for her hips. She got a little stuck at the bottom getting out

I think the Maxi Cosi Rodi extends a lot as well.

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