Child travelling in passenger seat - what are the rules?

[welliwouldnt]

I have no intention of doing this any time soon, but unfortunately the 6 year old has noticed that many classmates are heading home from school in the passenger seat (in child seats).

Personally, I feel we have perfectly good seats in the back and will be keeping the children there for as long as I can. Secondary school age seems time enough!

All advice on the 'official' position much appreciated. Thanks.

check your insurance, most insurance companies have noticed that the sats indicate that that it is 40 to 50% safer to travel in the back,

the insurance companies are not stupid, so most now have clauses that if you are under 14 then you must sit in the back if there is a proper seatbelt, if you have more than three children in the car under 14, and one must go in the front most insurance companies ask that the tallest goes in the front not the oldest.

for me the 40/50% safer statistic is enough for me to not allow any child in the front.

read the small print on your contract, you don't want to have an accident and find out the child wasn't insured.

Just found this
Q: Is it legal for my child to travel in the front passenger seat?

A: Yes. If your child is aged under 12 years they must be using an appropriate child restraint, unless they are over 135cm in height. Once a child is taller than 135cm, you may move a child out of the booster seat or booster cushion, regardless of their age, although they must still legally use the adult belt. It is the drivers responsibility to ensure that every passenger under 14 is restrained within the law.

However, if a child is in a rearward facing child car seat, and the front passenger seat is protected by an active frontal airbag, then it is illegal to carry your child in the front.

Although the law does allow you to carry children in the front (with the one exception above), it is safer for children to travel in the rear.

www.childcarseats.org.uk/faqs/index.htm

Hope this helps

5yo dd always sits in the front. But only because we have a baby ds who HATES the car and screams while in his carseat. The only thing which calms him down is me in the back. It's dd sit in the back and ds scream to the point of dh crashing or dd sit in the front. For now, it's safer.

DS always used to go in the front because we had a van.

I too have a van with only one seat belted seat in the rear, so one is next to me, one in back. Never been sure whether safer to have 5 year old (high backed booster) in front, or baby (rear-facing infant carrier).

Never seen anything about car insurance and DCs in the front.

Mine have always fought for the front seat, racing each other out of school and throwing boaster cushions about when they get there.

This is just another of the 100 and one things that seems to have got more complicated in the 14 years since DD1 was born.

Also my hearing lousy so I like the DDs in the front if they are on their own. It's nice to chat.