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Vote on Rear Facing Car Seats

111 replies

VickyFord · 23/09/2011 20:38

Advice sought please. Next week in the European Parliament there is a vote on whether children up to age 3 should have to travel in rear facing car seats. I have a vote. Apparently evidence from Sweden (where they are compulsory) is that these seats are safer if there is an accident. Also being told that studies in UK and US show same... but I think my kids would have kicked up such a fuss that we would have been more likely to have had an accident in the first place. However my youngest is now 10 so I?m probably miles out of date. Views from those with under 3s welcome. Have you read research? do you own a rear facing seat? what do your 2 year olds think?

p.s. I also think the EU shouldn?t be passing rules on car seats, surely we could decide this closer to home, but that is another matter altogether.

OP posts:
WidowWadman · 25/09/2011 12:38

We've got a seat which is suitable from birth to 4 and can face both directions, turned it FF when daughter was 14 months. Also it wouldn't fit RF into every car. If such a rule was made compulsory a lot of parents would be forced to change cars. Silly idea

NinkyNonker · 25/09/2011 14:32

I'm glad this was posted, dd is 13 mo and still in her Rf first stage maxi cosi, we've been looking into keeping her rear facing.

ShoutyHamster · 25/09/2011 15:16

DD is 20 months and RF - has always been RF. Quite happy - she has a good view out of the back. Just wish they reclined more so her head doesn't look so uncomfy when she falls asleep.

Debs75 · 25/09/2011 15:33

DD2 and 3 are in rf seats and they love them. The one time dd2 was in a ff seat at 1.11 she hated it, especially when the driver had to brake and she got thrown about. She had never experienced that feeling before and she was very pleased to get back in her rf seat. DD3 is still in her 0stage at 1.1 and she is dinky so willbe in it a while whick means dd2 can stay in her stage 1 seat longer.

A lot of evidence does say they are safer and the cost is not vastly greater then a really good ff seat. it was harder to find and some retasilers just do not understand ff seats and actively tried to discourage me from buying one. Having to order one in from abroad was a bit of a pain as I found it hard to find somewhere to try her in it first. I did however get a good seat and it is doing well. She has loads of legroom, although we have to manouveure her big feet as they get stuck.

The only downside I can see is they are larger then ff seats so fitting them in every car could be a problem. As for the thing about boosters and lack of stock, there was a huge campaign about the new laws for ages so anyone who left it till the last min to change seats was just being a bit daft,IMO.

RottenRow · 25/09/2011 15:41

We have the ff kiddy seat for dd. Which rated as safer then the rf seats they tested.

Tabitha8 · 25/09/2011 15:56

OP, you say we could decide this matter closer to home, but we haven't, have we? Is the gov't proposing to do so?

gemma4d · 25/09/2011 16:06

Re: cost of car seat,
I can only compare to America as I have bought a car seat over there, they have several cheap seats which RF to 35lbs / 15kg which will see most children through to 3? (Or mine through to at least 4, or longer!). For instance the Cosco Scenera which cost about $40 and has very good crash test scores - comparing well with the more expensive seats. So there is no good reason that we would HAVE to spend £300+ on a seat that would RF for longer than the English offerings like the Britax Eclipse which RFs to about 15 months. It also takes up MUCH less space than a lot of the extended RF car seats I looked at in England.

ragged · 25/09/2011 16:11

Oh heavens, I can give you half a dozen downsides.
But hopefully most will disappear as more products are brought to model/become easier to source.

ragged · 25/09/2011 16:11

brought to market even (oops)

Colliecollie · 25/09/2011 16:12

My DD1 changed from forward facing to rear facing between 18m and 2yrs, no problems whatsoever. She is still rear facing at 4 yrs old and still no problems. (BeSafe Combi X2)

RottenRow - which tester are you refering to? Is it Which? Their final ratings are not based on impact safety alone. Impact safety is the primary consideration for me.

NinkyNonker · 25/09/2011 16:25

Is the Britax 2 way elite isofix does anyone know? Are any of them?

I think cheap car seats are a false economy anyway, and they last years.

sleepevader · 25/09/2011 16:41

Britax two way elite is non isofix.

There are others that are. However the twe is good option for some as it's so portable.

Tabitha8 · 25/09/2011 16:41

The last I heard, seats that go up to 25kg are not isofix as isofix only goes up to 18kg. The two way elite goes up to 25kg. Nice seat, though.

Debs75 · 25/09/2011 18:45

The which safety scores are flawed with rf as they take into account how to fit and most rf are specialised fit, therefore score lower. IIRC they also tested rf seat facing forward

My rf is isofix and is upto age 4. It is the seat recommended for the car so it could depend on the make/model of car

grumplestilskin · 25/09/2011 18:52

the two way seats are NOT really rf seats as they can only be used rear facing for lil-uns (I've had 2) and have to be turned forward for most of the years you can use it for. NOT the same as a specific rear facing seat which is rear facing for as long as the child fits in it at all and has leg room

grumplestilskin · 25/09/2011 18:56

and if you check the labels the upper weight for rf on 2 way seats is WAY lower than the upper weight for FF in same seat. You cannot use them RF up to, say, 4 if that's what the seat can be used up to

RottenRow · 25/09/2011 19:07

No the which ratings are not based on impact safety alone but the kiddy seat gets top marks for front and side impacts. It has a thing which goes against the body which eliminates the risk of internal decapitation associated with the five point harness. They have also won awards from independent body in Germany. Def worth considering if you have travel sick child but have concerns about ff seats.

Atomant · 26/09/2011 07:43

EauRouge - yes taken seat abroad only in Europe though. First time we bubble wrapped it to death, second time we didn't it was fine both times. Tbh like all luggage it is a risk but I've heard such horror stories of unsafe car seats abroad that it's just not a consideration for us to rent one unless our seat goes missing/gets damaged. There's no extra charge to take it.

This year we saw a couple arguing with the car rental place about the safety car seat they'd just been given. The rental place were saying it was OK despite not knowing how to fit it. It was horrible as they were clearly very upset at the prospect of putting their DC in the seat.

Also to address someone else's point, we have 2 cars & 2 seats, my car is 3 door & it is more of a hassle but I still use RF seat successfully just have to climb in the back with DD to put her in it, I'd rather have a 5 door car but can't afford it. It does mean passenger seat never moves but that's not an inconvenience for us. With the type of seat we have, a 3 door wouldn't work if we had 2 DCs.

Byeckerslike · 26/09/2011 07:52

I see the benefits for this and everyone is entitled to sit their DC's ff/rf whatever they choose regardless of the law, so why would you love it if it if the law was changed, it doesnt have to be law to do it. So if you prefer rf seats, do it and let the ff'ers get on with it surely
Ps. Genuine question, not trying to be infammatory, btw, i have two rf and one ff, 4mth twins and a 3.5 ds

Hanid · 26/09/2011 08:02

Instead of talking amongst yourselves on this issue, if it is being voted on in the European Parliament this week, why don't we all email our MEP ourselves and urge them to vote for this if you believe that Extended Rear Facing seats are safer. It is easy to find out who you MEP is. Time is of the essence if the vote is this week. We put the MEP's in their job, they work for us but they must have our views in order to work correctly for us. GET THEM TO VOTE Yes!!

I have been researching rear facing seats for a few weeks now and have decided that this is the way to go. My local Mothercare didn't have a clue on rear facing, the best place i have gone to is my local Volvo dealearship as volvo cars recommend rear facing until 4 or 6 (I can't remember) they even tried the seat out for me in my Mini (in the front seat with Air Bag off!!) if it fits in a mini then size can't be an issue too much.

:-)

sleepevader · 26/09/2011 08:16

Yes hanid that's what I have suggested on other forums. Going to email mine this morning.

Byecklike - why the need for a change ? Well until the law changes car seat manufacturers and high street shops just aren't interested.

Byeckerslike · 26/09/2011 08:20

Therefore making them hard to get hold of and expensive i assume?

Cheaptrick · 26/09/2011 08:27

I would vote yes - but it needs to be done by weight of the child not an age restriction. My 2 yo is 17kg and 97 cm so would no longer fit in a rf seat but is not 3 yet.

Grumpla · 26/09/2011 08:31

I considered RF but the only model available in our local (ish) stockist didn't fit in our car!

They do seem to be a lot bigger and bulkier in the main - I can imagine this would be a real problem for people with 3DC!

I am fairly convinced by the safety stats, but wasn't prepared to buy a seat without seeing it first and having it properly fitted, I think that having a car seat improperly fitted is probably far more dangerous than FF.

I went with the Kiddy in the end and am very, very pleased with it.

I'm really shocked that someone posted earlier on this thread saying they often see babies in laps etc - I hope you are taking their reg numbers and calling the police! I've never seen this, sure there are plenty of idiots out there though.

Do you think there are other ways of increasing the supply of RF seats in the UK without making them mandatory across the EU? Because I think that would definitely be my preferred outcome!