Great Kids' Car Seat Hunt

kizatt

wazza wrote:

friend's daughters aged 11 who is chubby (another word for overweight) and will not feel comfortable on a booster chair. is she exempt???

friend is having difficulty finding booster chairs. told her to get it weeks ago but like others ignored me. seen her on the road with the daughter crouched low

28. My child is under 135 cms in height but already weighs more than 36kg? Should he use the adult belt?

No. The legislation is clear that height is the measure to decide whether to move up to the adult belt. Using a booster cushion and the adult belt even if a child is over 36kg is far better than using the adult belt alone.

the full info from the Dept of Transport can be read here:

http://www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk/campaigns/childcarseats/childcarseats.htm#

hope that helps!

kizatt

fuzzyrazer wrote:

Graco Junior Plus Car Seat £39.99 +£9.95 delivery in stock,delivered within 48 hrs.

Please exercise caution when choosing car seats - this Graco car seat did not fair well in the Which child seat tests getting poor results for both front & side crash tests. The updated report can be read here

(sign up for a free 30-day trial to see the full report - just don't forget to cancel before the 30 days are up!)

Their cheapest recommended best buy in this category is:

"Britax Hi-Liner
Price: £40
Score: 71 %
This is a forward facing booster with back rest that uses the three-point vehicle belt to restrain the seat and the child. It is designed for children aged about four to 12 (15-36kg).

It is very easy to use, offers very good leg support and excellent padding. While the idea of having one seat for several weight categories is often seen as a compromise, this one does a good job of bridging the gap. Crash ratings are pretty good, with low loads imparted to the child in both front and side crashes. The Hi-Liner has a very high back, which can foul on the car’s head restraints. Stability of the seat can be improved on some cars by turning or removing the vehicle headrest, to allow the high backrest to sit more squarely onto the seat back."

I had the Graco Junior Plus as well as a Britax Cruiser Plus which also did badly in the Which tests - I went out & replaced them with the Britax Hi-liners. see my previous post [post=2013425]here[/post]

kizatt

Loobeylou wrote:

So on a slightly different tack, what happens when young kids under the height restriction go on a school outing by coach?

Yes, the coach may well have seat belts, but what happens about the booster situation?

the new legislation relates to cars & goods vehicles, but says the following about buses, coaches etc:

"In buses and coaches (including minibuses), seated passengers aged 14 years and above will have to use seat belts where they are fitted. Regulations requiring children 3 years to 13 years to use seat belts (or child restraints if they are available) in these vehicles will be brought forward as soon as practicable. The regulations will not include any obligation for anyone to provide child restraints in these vehicles. Bus and coach (including minibus) operators need to notify their passengers that seat belt wearing is compulsory."

buses don't have to have seatbelts, not even school buses, so worrying about car seats in them would be a bit premature! although it looks like they do intend to do something about this at least for 3-13 year olds. BUSK - belt up school kids - campaigns for this to be rectified.

the legislation will apply to pupils being taken on trips etc in staff cars, though - check with your school if they have a policy on this with regard to the new legislation.

kizatt

shazziere wrote:

i have 3 children...5,7 and 9.i cant get 3 boosters in the back as i have only a citroen c3.However..i feel uncomfortably using the front seat for my eldest on a booster(air bag on pasenger side).Anyone know what 2 do for the best?shove all 3 in the back...eldest without booster or put 2 in the back and eldest in the front on booster

we had the same problem with our 3 & eventually went out & bought a car we could fit 3 car seats in (not easy to find & a bit impractical!). this is what the Dept of Transport advises:

"11. What if I am carrying more children than I can fit car seats?

All children up to 135 cms in height MUST use the correct child restraint and therefore you may not carry more children than there are child restraints . However, if a car has 3 seat belts in the rear, and 2 occupied child seats or boosters prevent the fitting of a third, a third child 3 years or over may then use an adult belt in the rear. If there is room, it would be safer for the third child to travel in the front seat and use the correct child seat or booster. See below about air-bags in front seats.


13. Can children travel in the front seat? And what about 2-seaters and convertibles?

Children can travel in the front seat of any vehicle provided they are properly restrained. This includes 2-seaters or convertibles, even if the top is down. But if there are air-bags, check the vehicle handbook to see what the manufacturer says about children and air-bags. We strongly recommend you follow that advice - air-bags are powerful devices and need respect.

22. Can I use a forward facing child seat or booster in a seat fitted with an active air-bag?

See what the car handbook says about children in seats with frontal air-bags. This can vary from car to car. We strongly recommend that advice should be followed because air-bags are powerful safety devices that must be treated with respect. Children, and adults for that matter, should not sit close to an active frontal air-bag. We suggest that the car seat should be as far back as possible from an air-bag."

for those who have a lap belt in the middle you can get restraints to make that safer, although they are hard to come by & pricey:

britax romer vario

they are made by britax for the european market & are therefore more difficult to order here, although it is possible. they fit over the child's legs & help by dispersing the impact in the event of an accident & therefore lessening the risks associated with lap belts (although they can get uncomfotable once the child's legs get too big - for my family around the age of 9 or 10). i think they do comply with the right ECE regulation, but you'd need to check if they're ok for the new legislation - although they have to be better than nothing in the case of a child who would otherwise not have a child restraint because of other car seats in the car. if the back seat of the car is particularly narrow, it might still be a struggle to fit two car seats and one of these in. incidently, they were originally recommended to us by our local traffic police when my sister had a van that had only lap belts in the back. sorry - can't remember where we got them - it was in the days before ordering online & the police recommended mail-order company.

kizatt

kronen wrote:

On the site it does say 4 - 6 year olds on a booster seat or car seat. My 5 year old is on a booster seat and I beleive that is okay.

this is what it actually says (i think there's a distinction between booster seats - with a back - and booster cushions - without a back):

"3. What do you mean by "child restraints" and what difference does the weight of my child make? Also what about seat belt adjusters?

"Child restraints" is the collective term in the seat belt wearing legislation for baby seats, child seats, booster seats and booster cushions.

Modern child restraints are designed for specific weight ranges of child. They have to meet UN ECE Regulation 44.03 (or subsequent) type approval standard and be marked with a label (showing an "E" and "44.03" or ".03") and the Group number, or weight range of child, for which it is designed. All child restraints that meet the Regulation 44.03 type approval standard are approved for use in forward-facing or rear-facing seats.

Manufacturers use different names for their products so the names we have used below may not always apply and are a guide only. Manufacturers sometimes combine weight ranges in one product so that it can be used over a longer time as a child grows. It is the weight of the child that decides the restraint that must be used.

Group 0 and Group 0+. These are baby seats - rear-facing and for children up to 10kg and up to 13kg respectively (approx age birth to 9-12 months);

Group I. Child seats - forward facing and for children 9kg to 18kg (approx 9 months to 4 years);

Group II. Booster seats - for children from 15kg to 25kg (approx 4 to 6 years), or 15kg up to 36 kg);

Group III. Booster cushions - for children from 22kg and up to 36kg (from approx 6 years).

Seat belt adjusters are comfort devices and not safety devices (check what the manufacturer says about them and their intended use). Only if an adjuster is labelled that it has been approved (and therefore tested) to the UN ECE Regulation 44.03 type-approval standard can it used instead of a type-approved child seat/booster."

i take that to mean that children should be using a car seat appropriate for their weight & age (i.e. if your 5 year old weighs 22kg or over, or other weight guidelines on the booster, then a booster cushion would be fine, likewise if a booster seat states it's suitable for a child of over 6 years in age, then that would also be fine) with the exception of a child over 36kg in weight & under 12 years/135cm who would have to continue to use a child restraint.

it also seems to indicate that as long as a child restraint conforms to ECE 44.03 it doesn't have to be a standard type of seat, e.g. a seat belt adjuster like that mentioned in previous posts or the lap-belt child restraint i mentioned in my previous post.

i'm probably going on a bit now with all these posts - the info from the dept of transport is really quite helpful if anyone wants to look at it themselves rather than me continuing to copy it all here! Dept of Transport. it also has info about second-hand car seats & lots of other faqs & of course was linked in martin's original post! hope i haven't gone totally off-topic & still posted (mainly ) about complying cheaply & safely!

screetch

have ordered 2 - and in stock:

http://www.4wheelplay.co.uk/childs-booster-seat-p-25002367.html

kaz

RonnieK_2

Does anyone know where you can buy an adult booster seat as my daughter is only 5ft tall and always has to use a cushion when she is driving.

choccyface2006

To anyone still looking for a resonably priced booster seat, I got one yesterday for just £4-99 in Tesco (Blackpool) they seemed to have plenty.

Sarah

clairg_2

Bought one in Tesco's for £4.99 last week for my daughter, also a car seat that comes apart into a booster seat for my son in argos for £29.99 i think.

newmommyjen

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.200-5726.aspx
booster seat £4.99 instore on online at tesco