Legal position? - Extra rear facing seating in an estate car

schmooser

Does anyone know the current legislative position regarding child seats with regards to the additional seating that you can buy to fit in the boot of an estate.

I have recently purchased a Skoda Octavia estate which has an additional bench seat to be bolted in the boot. It has two 3 point adjustable safety belts on it and is sized (I believe) for children (well, let's put it this way I didn't fit when I tried to sit in it!).

Piccie here:

Basically, can my 3 and 5 year old sit in here without any additional boosters or child seats?

And PLEASE no discussion around the relative safety of rear facing seats in the boot, I know the pros and cons, but just want to assess my options.
Thanks

june1970_2

they will stay need boosters.

skylight

They will still legally require the appropriate child seat restraints (hi-back car seats or boosters depending on their weight etc).

schmooser

Thanks for the responses so far, one question I should have asked is that I thought the idea of child seats for children over the age of three was more about the positioning of the seat belts to ensure they come over the shoulder in the correct place (rather than across the neck which they would do in normal three point seat belts).

In this case the bench seat is already raised and the seat belt sits very comfortably in the correct position over their lap and over their shoulder. So theoretically this would remove the problem that booster seats are designed to overcome?

(I've done a search on the internet and not come up with any specific reference to this kind of additional seating)

skylight

Yes, but at 3, you should also have side impact protection which you wont get with just a booster seat.

Best thing to do, is to go to Mothercare. They have specialists (trained) and can fit different boosters/seats into your car with your kids, so you can find the best fit.