Child booster seats in cars

i covered this subject in september when the law was changing at work (school). children under a certain height and age have to use a car seat whilst travelling in a car but not a taxi, because everyone knows taxis dont have accidents. As part of a project we looked into it bit deeper. The car seat is bascially to raise child so belt goes over pelvis not tummy. Short adults and children over 10 (i think) are exempt. Most at risk are short teenagers. The pelvis is not solid until the age of 15.

anyway as this country is reported to be the worst to bring up children I feel we should concentrate on that as opposed to car seats.

Originally Posted by kitkat

i covered this subject in september when the law was changing at work (school). children under a certain height and age have to use a car seat whilst travelling in a car but not a taxi, because everyone knows taxis dont have accidents. As part of a project we looked into it bit deeper. The car seat is bascially to raise child so belt goes over pelvis not tummy. Short adults and children over 10 (i think) are exempt. Most at risk are short teenagers. The pelvis is not solid until the age of 15.

anyway as this country is reported to be the worst to bring up children I feel we should concentrate on that as opposed to car seats.

Almost - children up to 11 and under 1.5m(5ft) in height must be restrained
though soon as the child reaches 1.5m regardless of age it can use an adult belt
the offical mark that you should be looking for is ECE R44.03 and this sd be pointed out by retailer and you sd also ask to see the fitting certificate of the person.
They are still in talks at the moment to change the penalty of not using child restraints. Therefore if you are involved in an accident in which there is a child that should have been restrained and isn't they want to proceed with criminal prosecution. If that child is injured or killed then they want it to be the same as if the driver has run somebody over (driver responsible for childs welfare)
So as much as its a nanny state - beware.

i think it is 1 m 4 not 1 m 5. my son accordingly to measuring thing in halfords is just tall enough and is not 5 ft.

Originally Posted by embee

Sadly this Government are the masters of drafting laws which cannot be policed. Most of the laws are very poorly drafted at that, they just don't seem to get the idea that laws should be as precise and defined as possible, not of the "well you know what I mean" variety.

A good example was when SORN was introduced. I contacted DVLA to find out what to do in the event of certain circumstances, did I have to inform them of moving the vehicle from the declared address, what if I wanted to tax it on the 2nd of the month, did I have to declare SORN for one day etc?
Their response was, "well you can tell us about the change of address if you want, and use your common sense about the odd day or two!" I reminded them there was a potential £5k fine and it was their law not mine, so perhaps they ought to have chapter and verse ready. They called me a trouble maker to which I replied with a formal complaint, and got an apology.

On the booster seat issue, I have yet to see what a "booster seat" is defined as, does it have to be to a BS or CE standard, in which case is it one size fits all or are there different sizes for different size/age kids? Can you use something that isn't CE etc? What is the offence?

Nanny state indeed.

http://www.childcarseats.org.uk/standards/oldstds.htm

HTH

[northwind]

Originally Posted by Tomcat

This is not a police issue but a parenting issue, nanny state is what is happening here.

If the parents don't look after the kids, then maybe a bit of state intervention's what's needed? It's one thing to cry "nanny state" when someone fails to look after themselves, but when you've got a young kid involved, should the government realyl stand by?

Not that I think this is a good law, mind