Car seats

[shell73]

I am been looking at the car seat law as my son is reaching the age where he just needs a forward facing without harness only trouble is as i have minded children i can only just fit the three in the back but when he goes in that car seat i wont be able to keep strapping him in as i always catch my wrist.
The law only says about rear facing with an airbag but says about a forward facing must be in a restraint but doesnt mention anything about with an airbag.

What do you think??
Could i use the car seat in the front, its forward facing and i do have an airbag?
Please help i am confused
Shelley

[rickysmiths]

No you shouldnt have a child in a forward facing seat in the front without disabling the air bag. What I do, I have the kind of booster I think you are talking about.

I put the 2 seats in either side of the back seat then I put the strape around the booster very loose so it is away from the back seat and clip it in then push it into place, my mindee then sits in it and there is loads of space to slide her legs under the strap and adjust accordingly. Does that make sense?


Then to get her out I relaease the strap at the top and loosen the seat belt as far as it will, the body straps she can easily move out of and she pulls her legs out of the waist bit. Still make sense? That way all the seats are in place firmly and safely and so are the children and without you catching you hand all the time.:)

[Daftbat]

Hi,

Whilst it is always preferable to have any child in the rear seats of the car rather than the front it is only illegal to have a rear facing car seat in the front if you have an active air bag. If the air bag is not active it is fine. Front facing car seats and booster seats are allowed in the front even with an active air bag. If i have occasion to use the front seat i always push the actual seat of the car back as far as i can to allow maximum room for the air bag to inflate.

Again, i would always advise using the rear seats if they are available.

If you want more clarit you can go to the following website www.childcarseats.org.uk

:)

[kirka]

Hi

Does anyone have a car risk assessment form I could use.

Many thanks

[shell73]

Thanks for the replies
I went on that website earlier but got confused.
I can still use the rear carseat with a harness but he is forever taking his arms out that is why i thought would be ebst to use the non harness car seat, but i really cant fit my arm in each day to plug belt in if it was in the rear. As i can only just fit the three car seats in so once a week is fine to do that but not everyday. I struggle putting seat belt on when the other mindee who sits in the middle when i have less children

Ricky i am not sure that this is safe but thats my opinion especially as its my own child and he is last to get out due to him running off and stuff when used to get him out.

As long as i can do it legally then i am happy just dont want to break any laws that was all!

Thanks for the advice
Shelley

[misst104]

I have always been under the impression that you couldn't carry a child in the front seat of a car with an active airbag regardless of whether they were in a forward or rear facing seat but after reading this thread, tried to find out what the law actually says. As far as I can make out, the new law that came into effect in sept 06 made a change to say it is illegal to carry a child in a rear facing baby seat in the front seat if protected by an airbag. Having looked at lots of sites I cannot find anything which states you cannot carry a child in a forward facing seat in the front with an active airbag. Just says that you must make sure the seat is appropriate to age/weight of the child.

jo x x x :)

[shell73]

I spoken to my local safety team and they said yes you can use a car seat in the front but they dont recommend it. The recommend waiting until they reach a certain height at least 3ft Preferably they recommend using in the back but if this is not accessable then to move the front seat as far back as possible. She was telling me how an airbag works and what impact it oculd have

I dunno what to do now!1
I would not be breaking any laws which is good news but am still very confused on what they best thing to do is