Child seats new Laws

[Westfieldman]

There are some new rules for the transport of children coming into force on

the 18th September this year

So would this impact us Westfield owners and their children Elloise loves

going out in the Westfield, she is 6.5 years old and has travelled in the

Westfield since she was 4 I used to drop her of at playschool in it

She also helps out with some jobs on the car see

.htm" target="_blank">Rules from the Dept of Transport

I have phoned Humberside Police for advice and the officer would only give

an opinion and suggested it would be down to the officer on the day to judge

if it was in breach of the new rules

I have also E-mailed the D of T

So updates to follow as and when I have any more info

[Mark Stanton]

Would anyone risk their childs safety by travelling in any car if the seatbelts did not fit securely and correctly

[S8ight]

Would anyone risk their childs safety by travelling in any car if the seatbelts did not fit securely and correctly

still amazes me how many people i still see driving round with kids not wearing seat belts  

people who dont have kids fastened in cars properly should have their kids taken off them

[Lurksalot]

Would anyone risk their childs safety by travelling in any car if the seatbelts did not fit securely and correctly

still amazes me how many people i still see driving round with kids not wearing seat belts  

people who dont have kids fastened in cars properly should have their kids taken off them

...

and their cars

[chappers]

still amazes me how many people i still see driving round with kids not wearing seat belts  

Me too.

I saw an SL 55 AMG in London recently with two women in the front seats with a young lad on the passenger's lap with her seatbelt around both of them.  Why they didn't use the rear seats it had - I have no idea, they would have been perfectly big enough for him. He looked perfectly old enough to say no and use some common sense and sit in the back.   The fact that the driver was spending more time looking at herself in the rear-view mirror rather than driving didn't help.

[Tubs]

Would anyone risk their childs safety by travelling in any car if the seatbelts did not fit securely and correctly

I saw a young couple recently where the mother (presumption) was holding her baby in her arms in the front seat with the seat belt going round both.  I really don't believe that she understood how dangerous this was, and that's the problem.  

Do you create laws to protect people from themselves and have a nanny (Blair) state   or do you try to educate people and give them greater freedom of choice.

I know which gets my vote.

Tubs

[a4gom]

I use a standard 2 piece ply/foam/leather seat in the passenger seat for this reason as it allows me to use the booster seat, the 4 point harness fits fine with the shoulder straps passing through the slots in the back rest of the booster.

I'ts only 4 bolts to put the R500 seat back in if and when its required, tbh most of the passengers i've had in have preffered the comfort of the 2 piece seat anyway.

[Fat Albert]

Inappropriate behaviour by young people (or their parents) is the symptom...

Inappropriate people becoming parents is the disease

You need to fill in a form to borrow a book from a library, you have to pass written and practical tests to drive a car on the road but to acquire the greatest responsibility of all, all you have to do is take your clothes off

Utter utter stupidity

[Westfieldman]

From the D of T

QUOTE

Thanks for your e-mail.  Full information on the updated child seat/booster seat regulations is on-line at http://www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk/campaig....ats.htm .

Children up to 135 cms in height who are also under 12 years of age to use the correct child seat/booster for their height.  If child seats/boosters cannot be used with full harnesses, I'm afraid there are no concessions for vehicles fitted with full harnesses.  See Q4 of our information page for the reasons why child seats/boosters are necessary.

Tim Norman

Road User Safety Division

Dept for Transport

LONDON SW1P 4DR

020 7944 2043

15/9/06

[lespaul]

Still a little confused as my son is 129cm tall but fits in the seat and is very secure in the 4 point harness, does this mean he still needs a booster seat?

(We have booster seats in both our tin tops for him but they wont fit in the Westys seats    )

Problem will probably be solved as the Westy will be away for winter soon and he'll be over 135cm by next spring anyway  

Darren

[a4gom]

(We have booster seats in both our tin tops for him but they wont fit in the Westys seats    )

I had this problem, i have now resolved it by replacing the seat with a standard 2 piece seat on which the booster will fit but prior to this I used a booster which I had altered. If you look at some of the boosters they are made from a solid lump of polystyrene, it is very easy to trim them down so they are a snug fit in a bucket seat. You tend to find loads of this type of seat at car boots for about 50p.

The booster only has one function, its there to raise the child into such a position so the seat belt fits correctly so as long as you make the booster a snug fit there should be no problem altering it.

[adhawkins]

Still a little confused as my son is 129cm tall but fits in the seat and is very secure in the 4 point harness, does this mean he still needs a booster seat?

Where does the lap strap sit? It should sit across his hips. If it's any higher it could do more harm than good in an accident.

Andy

[Ian]

Can I throw another question into this discussion?

I've got the Westfield 2 part seats (plus head rests, so no holes for seatbelts) and 4 point harnesses. With my 3.5 year old (who loves the car) , I found that the shoulder straps are massively too far apart for him.

Has anyone found a good solution to this? Mine (which I'm not entirely happy with) is to bring the two shoulder straps close together by using a karibena (or however it's spelt) behind the headrest.

The Karibena is designed to take 500 kg. I once read that seatbelts are designed to take 1000 kg, so on the basis that he weighs a lot less than me, it should be adequate.

Any thoughts or alternatives?

I currently use a Graco booster seat, but it doesn't fit the shape of the seat well. I'm looking out for a cheap polystyrene booster seat, which could be trimmed to fit better.

Ian

[Camel_Landy]

FWIW... I found that the very basic Mothercare 'commuter' booster seat fitted the Westie perfectly.

Mark

[a4gom]

Still a little confused as my son is 129cm tall but fits in the seat and is very secure in the 4 point harness, does this mean he still needs a booster seat?

Where does the lap strap sit? It should sit across his hips. If it's any higher it could do more harm than good in an accident.

Andy

But it will be fine as soon as he is 12 no matter how tall he is