Car safety restraints
car; seat; safe; safety; capsule; booster; baby; restraint; airbag; passenger; seatbelt; harness; back; belt; ;
Contents
To be as safe as possible when travelling in cars, children and adults need to be using restraints or seatbelts that are properly fitted and suited to the age and size of the person.
The restraint (baby capsule, safety seat or booster seat) needs to be the correct size and design for the infant or child. Children have been harmed when riding in a car restraint that is too large for them. Continue to place a young child in the appropriate car safety restraint until the child weighs the maximum amount recommended for that restraint. Do not change from one to another just based on age.
Information in this topic covers legal requirements in South Australia, (and other Australian States) and also selection and fitting of restraints for children.
There will be some changes to the laws in South Australia from July 2009. There is information on the Road Safety website 'Road Safety and new child restraint laws - FAQ'.
Warning!
Do not use a rear facing (facing towards the back of the car) infant restraint in the front seat, or any other seat where there is an airbag. The inflating bag can harm, or even kill a baby.
Children under 12 months of age
- Babies under 12 months of age, travelling in a motor vehicle manufactured on or after 1 July 1976 must use an approved child restraint that is properly fastened and adjusted. This applies to all cars, station wagons, four wheel drive vehicles and minibuses. An exemption applies to certain vehicles (including taxis).
- Babies are not safe when being held by another person. The person's arms will not be strong enough to hold the baby in an accident.
Children between 12 months and 16 years
- Children between 12 months and 16 years of age must use an approved restraint suitable for their weight and size, properly adjusted and fastened.
The driver is responsible for ensuring that children under 16 years are wearing their seatbelt, or have been strapped correctly into a restraint.
Toddlers and seatbelts
Some toddlers will not stay in their safety seat when travelling in the car. They continually undo the belt or harness. There there are some devices to prevent this happening but these are not recommended as seatbelts have to be easy to undo in the case of an emergency, and they may cause extra injuries in a collision.
- It is important for parents to be very firm about children staying in their restraint.
- If your child undoes the seatbelt, stop the car and tell her firmly that the car is not allowed to go unless the seatbelt is done up.
- You may have to persist but it is important that she learns that undoing the seatbelt is not allowed and that you will not drive if anyone's seatbelt is undone.
Child passengers
- Seatbelts and child restraints have made a great difference to the safety of children in cars and it is important to make sure that there are suitable restraints available when your children travel in a car.
- If all seats in the car are occupied and you need to carry extra passengers, including children, you are allowed to do so, but for safety reasons it is not wise to do this.
- It is not safe to let your children lie down and sleep on the seat.
- It is against the law for two passengers, even two children, to use the same seatbelt.
- The law does not forbid children riding in the front seat of a car, provided they are using proper restraints. However, the front passenger seat is the least safe seat in the car and provides less protection for the passenger than any other seat.
People 16 years and over
- Passengers must wear a seatbelt if there is one available. The passenger is personally responsible for sitting in a seat with a seatbelt and for wearing the seat belt.
- The driver must wear a seatbelt if one is fitted to the driver's seat.
- This applies to all motor vehicles and to people of any age.
Child restraints
Transport SA has provided the following information.
All baby capsules, safety seats and booster seats should be correctly and securely fitted to the car and straps adjusted to fit the child.
The type of restraint used depends on the child's weight, size and development.
- A rear facing baby capsule is recommended from birth to when the baby weighs about 9kg. Before the baby is moved into a safety seat, the baby should also be able to sit, and control her head.
- Safety seats can be used until the child no longer fits into the seat (too tall for the shoulder straps) and/or is the maximum weight recommended for the safety seat.
- Booster seats can be used until the child reaches the safe weight limit for the booster seat you have. It would be safer for children who are small for their age to use booster seats until they are older and heavier.
- A child safety harness which has 5 straps (ie includes a crutch strap) is another option for children 14-32 kg (about 3½ to 8 years)
- Recent research has shown that children are not large enough to safely use only an adult car seatbelt until they reach a standing height of 148cm, a sitting height of 74cm and/or a weight of 37kg. This is the size of an average 11 year old. If smaller children are restrained only by an adult seatbelt they are much more likely to have serious injuries, including spinal injuries, than children who are the same size who use a booster seat.
- There is clearly a gap here between recommended size (in some recent literature) and the products that are available, with booster seats recommended up to 26kg (or 32kg for some booster seats) but safe adult seatbelts recommended only for children over 37kg. If a booster seat is recommended for a child up to 26kg, then it is better not to use it for a child over this weight. Adult seatbelts are probably the best option available at the moment.
- Seatbelts are made for adults but they can provide some protection for children if there is not a proper child restraint available. The lap part of the seat belt should pass over the hips. The "sash" should not touch the head or neck. Adjust the belt so the buckle is at, or below, the hip
Seat belts and
pregnant women
Every person travelling in a motor vehicle must use an approved restraint where one is available, properly fastened and adjusted. This includes pregnant women no matter what stage of pregnancy. Sometimes pregnant women find seatbelts uncomfortable, but a seat belt that is worn properly puts little pressure on the unborn child and it is the safest way to travel in a car.
Child restraints can easily be fitted into cars that have the places (anchorages) to secure them. If the car is older than 1977 and does not have these anchorages, restraints can still be fitted. You do not legally have to use a restraint for a child under one year of age in an older car (eg before 1976), however your baby will be much safer if you arrange to have an anchorage put into your car.
Sitting in the back
Sitting in the rear seat of a car rather than the front seat reduces the risk of child injury or death by more than 35% in the event of a crash. As road trauma is a leading cause of child injury and death in highly motorised nations, even in coutries where restraint use is high, placing children in the back of a car is a low cost way to improve child health.
Most parents have a rule that children should sit in the rear seat, but many parents relax this rule for a variety of reasons including because the trip is short and because children regard sitting in the front seat as a treat. It is important to continue to resist pressure from children.
Resources
- The Red Cross has a 'Safety Store' in Adelaide at Mile End 31 Sir Donald Bradman Drive, Mile End 8443 9700 where car safety restraints can be hired and fitted.
For more information about the Red Cross see: http://www.redcross.org.au/sa/
- Another company that hires car restraints in South Australia is 'Hire for Baby' - they have centres in several metropolitan and country areas and their staff are trained in fitting safety restraints.
http://www.hireforbaby.com/branches2.php?state=sa
Transport SA publications
http://www.transport.sa.gov.au/publications/safety.asp
The NSW Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA), 'A Buyers Guide to Child Restraints'. Click here
Cameron L, Segedin E, Nuthall G, Thompson J, ‘Safe restraint of the child passenger’ Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 42 (2006) 752-757
Lennon A, ‘A risky treat: exploring parental perceptions of the barriers to seating their children in the rear seats of passenger vehicles’ Injury Prevention 2007;13:105-109; doi:10.1136/ip.2006.012906
http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/13/2/105
The information on this site should not be used as an alternative to professional care. If you have a particular problem, see a doctor, or ring the Parent Helpline on 1300 364 100 (local call cost from anywhere in South Australia).
This topic may use 'he' and 'she' in turn - please change to suit your
child's sex.