Britax Duo Plus Isofix

Archive for the ‘General Info’ Category

All pregnant women are required to wear seat belts while in the front or rear seats of a vehicle. Fit the strap as comfortable as possible. This will usually be by crossed the breast bone, between the breasts with the lap belt crossing the thighs. That is, take the strap over the pelvis rather than the bump and tighten as much as possible.

In normal circumstances, mothers-to-be must wear a seat belt. However, in some medical circumstances it is possible you may be exempt. It is up to your Doctor to authorise exemption. Click here for information on exemptions.

Get the “Buckle Up For Baby And You” leaflet here.

The Law Regarding Children In Cars

Basically, all children under 135cm tall or under the age of 12 in front or rear seats must wear the correct child restraint for their weight with a few exceptions. This also applies to overseas visitors and their cars while travelling in this country. If this is a hire car, then seats should be booked in advance with the rental company.

Exceptions are limited and differ slightly depending on whether the child is over or under three years of age.

1. In a licensed hire car or taxi if the correct restraint is unavailable they may only travel in the rear seat; if over three they should wear the adult belt and if under three, they can be unrestrained as the adult belt would work at all.

2. In a genuine emergency, and over a short distance, a child over three years may travel in the rear using an adult seat belt. This does NOT apply to children under three, regular trips or those planned in advance.

3. When there is only room to fit two child restraints on the rear seat, and, if the front seat is already occupied, a child over three may use an adult belt (lap only or full). If the front seat is empty, they must use this and the correct child restraint for their age.

4. If the vehicle has no rear seat belts as is common with older vehicles, a child over three may travel unrestrained.

Get the “Seat Belts And Child Restraints” leaflet here as it also provides current UK laws on child seat belts and who is responsible for ensuring a child is secured in a vehicle.

Recent comments by the AAP suggest that contrary to popular beliefs surrounding rear-facing seats that it is NOT common for them to break their legs in any accident.

In fact, latest research has found that a child of less than two is 75% LESS likely to experience a serious injury or die when in a rear-facing seat. Likewise, children between 1 and 2 years of age are five times safer than those riding in a front-facing car seat.

Why? The answer is fairly simple and to do with physics. While rear-facing, the force of any collision will be evenly distributed over the body. In contrast, while forward-facing, the force of an impact is concentrated on the seat belt contact areas which may lead to more serious neck and head injuries. Our recommendation for a rear facing seat is the Britax First Class Plus Rearward & Forward Facing as it flips to a forward facing seat when needed, this seat also comes in a range of colours. Read more by clicking the link.

The point here is, don’t put your child forward-facing until their head is one inch of the top of the seat structure, the weight for that seat is reached, or until at least two years of age.

Rather than tell you more, just watch the video below and you will realise why you should keep your child in a rear facing position for as long as possible.