New rules for child restraints and booster seats

During 2009, changes to child restraint laws are being legislated across all Australian states. These changes will help parents and carers ensure their children are in the safest child restraint or booster seat for their age.

Children under seven years of age must wear a child restraint or booster seat when travelling in a car for improved safety.

The type of restraint will depend on the age of the child as follows:

• Children aged under six months must wear an approved, properly fastened and adjusted, rear facing child restraint
• Children aged between six months and under four years must wear an approved, properly fastened and adjusted, rear facing child restraint OR a forward facing child restraint with an in-built harness
• Children aged between four years and under seven must wear an approved, properly fastened and adjusted, forward facing child restraint with an in-built harness OR an approved booster seat which is properly positioned and fastened.

There are also new laws for where children can sit in vehicles.

• If a car has two or more rows of seats, then children under four years must not travel in the front seat.
• If all seats, other than the front seats, are being used by children under seven years, children aged between four and six years (inclusive) may travel in the front seat, provided they use an approved restraint or booster seat.

Restraints must be fitted by an approved child restraint fitter.

Exemptions

Taxis will continue to be exempt from the child restraint requirements. However, parents are encouraged to use their own restraints in taxis where possible. When there is no suitable child restraint available a seatbelt must be worn.

The road safety reasons

• On average, nearly 300 children under the age of seven are injured or killed as passengers in vehicles on Victorian roads alone.
• Parents generally move their children into adult seatbelts from about the age of five and a half years - research suggests this is too young.
• Children up to seven years are at least four times more likely to sustain a head injury in a crash when sitting in an adult seatbelt only.
• Other research shows seating children aged four to seven years old in an appropriate booster seat reduces their risk of injury in a crash by almost 60 per cent, compared to if they were sitting in an adult seatbelt without a booster seat.

Check with your state roads authority for implementation date.

Source: Vic Roads

If you would like to comment on this article or discuss this topic with other parents, go to our forum now!

This article was first published in the Spring 2009 edition of Australian Family Magazine.