Booster Seat Ban

Which announced yesterday that stricter rules regarding the use of booster seats will come into force later this year limiting the use of backless booster seats to older children. This will impact parents who are currently using backless booster seats.

Under the current law in the UK, all children travelling in a car must use an appropriate car seat until they are 12 years old or 135cm tall.

Under the new rules, backless booster seats will only be allowed for use for children who are taller than 125cm and weigh more than 22kg. This is a big change from the current rules which allow backless booster seats to be used by children weighing as little as 15kg – as young as 3 years old.

So why the change? Child car seat experts advise that this type of booster seat is unsuitable for such young children – the young child isn’t held as securely in the seat, the seat belt isn’t guided across their little body in the best way, and, crucially, a booster seat offers no protection for a child if your car’s involved in a side-impact crash.

The concerns about Backless booster seats however isn’t new. Last year The Telegraph shared some shocking footage via Britax highlighting the lack of support from backless booster seats using crash test dummies. They called for a “Ban the Booster” campaign, aiming to encourage parents to opt for a safer alternative. You can watch the footage here- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/motoringvideo/11741528/Parents-urged-to-bin-booster-seats.html

Does your child’s car seat adhere to the new legislation? Will you need to buy a new car seat? You can read more about the changes and Which’s recommendations for alternatives here: http://www.which.co.uk/news/2016/04/new-booster-seats-ban-439787/