Child safety in cars
Choosing and using a car seat for your child
You'll want to make sure that your children are as safe as possible in the car which means choosing a car seat suitable for your car and the child's age/size, fitting the seat properly in the car, and making sure the child is strapped in correctly for every journey.
Before you start looking at child seats it's important to understand the legal requirements - who must use child restraints and when must they do so? Read our summary of the law first.
Types of child seat
Choosing a car seat - What you need to know when deciding on the car seat that's best for your child
Infant carriers - rearfacing for newborn babies
Child seats - forward facing with integral harness
Booster seats - combining adult belts with side impact protection
Booster cushions - useful for occasional trips with family or friends
Child safety dos and don'ts - Things to consider when choosing and using child seats
More about child safety in cars
Front or back seat? - How to decide on the safest place in the car for your child.
Fitting seats - how to secure a child seat safely.
Children locked in cars - every day AA patrols are called to rescue young children accidentally locked inside a car.
The ISOFIX system - 'plug-in' seats for easier fitting and improved safety
Releasing buckles - most children try it at sometime but how can you stop them?
Extreme hazard warning
You must not use a rear-facing infant carrier on a front-passenger seat where an active passenger airbag is fitted. The child's head will be too close to the airbag and severe injury or death could result if the bag is triggered.
For forward facing child restraints it is acceptable to leave the airbag active and move the car's seat back on its runners as far as it will go. Do check the car handbook for model specific advice though as airbag size and performance does vary.
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10 August 2011