Important changes in the use of booster seats all parents need to know
Find out what you need to know about these new regulations
New rules…
- …for use of booster seats
The use of backless booster seats for older children was limited last year (2016) as stricter rules have been set in place this year.
From 2017 manufacturers no longer make boosters cushions for smaller children, only the backless boosters for children over 125cm tall.
This change in children's car seats applies to new products, not child restraint systems which are already in use and meet existing safety standards.
You don't need to buy a new booster seat, if your older booster seats complies with existing regulations you are not breaking the law if you still use them after any rule change.
Current law states that all children travelling in a car must use the correct car seat until the age of 12 or they reach 135cm tall.
The current laws allow children weighing 15kg (around 3 years old) to travel in backless booster seats but this is set to be extended.
The new rules state that backless booster seats will only be approved for use for children taller than 125cm and weighing more than 22kg.
The reason for the change is that a small child isn’t held as securely in the seat and the seat belt isn’t guided across their body in the optimum way. The real concern however is that a booster seat offers no protection for a child if the car they are travelling in is involved in a side-impact crash.