What is the UK child seat law?
Child safety whilst on the road is something that we all need to keep in mind, the government has put in place certain laws and legislation's that help us keep our children safe whilst driving. Of course children need car seats but there are certain limitations and laws that we have to abide to keep our children safe.
A child restraint (also known as a car seat) is an absolute must for all children under 135cm or under the age of 12, after reaching that height or age they can start using an adult seat belt. However there are some contextual exceptions to this rule that I’ll outline farther on in the article.
For children under three, carrying them in the front seat is illegal and the child must use a correct child restraint or car seat, also of note is that if there is a frontal airbag in the front seat of your car, the child restraint must not face toward the seat and instead must face the windscreen. Again, this only applies for cars that have an active frontal airbag.
For the under threes In the back seat of the car, the child must be using a child restraint. However if you’re in a licenced taxi or hire car and there are no child restraints available, the child may travel unrestrained in the rear seat. However this is only applicable for under threes and the law has only been introduced for more practical purposes than safety reasons. It’s also recommended for an adult to be with the child in the rear seat of the car should this occur. Just to reiterate, the driver takes responsibility for the safety of a child and for him/her to be restrained correctly.
For children over three years of age, the child must use a correct child restraint whilst in the front seat. In the back seat, children must use a correct restraint where the seat belts are fitted on the car. There are several exceptions to this rule and with all of them the child must use an adult seat belt instead. They are as follows;
1. In a licensed taxi or private hire vehicle.
2. If the child is travelling on a short journey or of an unforseen necessity
3. If there are two other occupied child restraints in the rear which prevent the fitting of a third child restraint.
For children who are over 135cm or are 12 or 13 years old, they must wear an adult seat belt in both the front and back seats of the car and for children aged 14 and up the same applies, they must wear an adult seat belt.
For other vehicles such as vans, coaches, buses, minibuses and goods vehicles children in the front seat must be using correct child restraints or adult seat belts as explained above.
For rear seats in small minibuses (That weigh under 2540kg unloaded) children must wear the seat belts that are provided. Children under 3 years of age must use an appropriate child restraint. Children aged 3 to 11 that are under 135cm must also use an appropriate child restraint or seat belt if a correct child restraint is not available. For children aged 12 or 13 they must wear an adult seat belt. For children up to 14 years of age the responsibility of their safety is with the driver. For over 14’s they are legally responsible for themselves to wear an adult seat belt.
In larger Minibuses (That weigh over 2540kg unloaded) passengers must wear seat belts in the rear of the vehicle or a correct child seat with no exceptions on all journeys. The same also applies for children travelling in coaches.
In some cases, there may not be enough seat belts or child restraints available for passengers, if this is the case then some are allowed to legally travel in the rear of the vehicle without wearing a restraint or seat belt. Please be aware however that this is not recommended even if it is legal. It’s recommended that the heaviest passengers wear a seat belt because every year between 8 and 15 front seat passengers are killed in an accident where rear seat passengers who are not wearing seat belts fly forward. Our advice is to be logical and only carry the same amount of passengers as there are seat belts. It’s always safer to take two journeys or two cars and keep the passengers safe.
If you choose not to obey these laws and are convicted of failing to wear a seat belt as a driver or passenger you could be fined up to £500. If you’re convicted of failing to ensure that a child passenger is using an appropriate restraint or fails the legal requirements that I have posted above, you could be fined up to £500.
Your insurance can also be affected by failing to abide by these legal requirements in the way that if you make a claim it could affect your cover. You can also face legal charges for damages for a manner of things such as failing to carry someone’s child in your vehicle. Of course the ultimate penalty for not following these laws is loss of life.
Hopefully this article has clarified some of the rules and laws behind carrying children in your motor vehicle. I’ll just reiterate this again, the driver is responsible for all children up to the age of 13 in the car to ensure that they are properly secured in a child restraint or a seat belt.
I’ve also listed out the exceptions to some of these rules and you should have no problem whatsoever understanding how to secure a child safely in a car or vehicle of any sort.
