How will the changes in car seat legislation affect parents?​

As a family run business, we really understand the importance of keeping your family safe whilst on the road. We are always more than happy to find you the perfect vehicle for your growing family.

Recently there has been a lot of talk about child car seats, and a fair amount of confusion surrounding the topic too.

The government were due to roll out some new regulations relating to booster seats this December, although this has now been delayed until March 2017.

What are the changes put forward and how do they affect parents?

In the UK, children must normally use a child seat until they are 12 years old or 135cm tall, whichever comes first. The seats must be EU approved; you will find a label showing a capital ‘E’ in a circle.

The main confusion coming from recent proposals is whether or not backless booster seats have been banned. The argument is whether backless seats guide the seat belt across your child’s body as well as the high backed seats. It has also been said that high backed seats protect children better in a side-impact crash.

The backless booster seats currently are NOT banned. However, the ongoing discussions of car seat safety, for children over the age of fifteen months, includes making backless booster seats only approved for children over 125cm and weighing more than 22kg.

It is important to remember that if the new regulations are enforced, they will only apply to new products. This won’t apply to products that you are already using that meet the current existing safety standards.

This is good news for parents who already own these important safety appliances, but certainly something to consider when debating what kind of seat to progress to next.