The safety of infants and children in the car is a paramount concern for us all. We have the responsibility to ensure that they are correctly strapped in to their correctly fitted car seat and that we lessen the risk of having an accident by driving defensively.

Under British law, it is the driver's responsibility to ensure that all children aged under 14 comply with the seat belt laws.

Ensure that the child locks are on whenever there is a child in the car, thus avoiding a door being opened by inquisitive fingers.

Combination/forward-facing seats

From around 9 months (depending on your child's weight and height) your child can move into a combination or forward-facing car seat. This is a revelation for many babies who have spent the majority of their moving life looking at the back seat of the car and they'll delight in watching their new found world whizz past the window outside. Most seats of this category will last until around 4 years and are secured by isofix or routing the seat-belt through the back of the seat and clamping it in place.

You'll notice that these seats are a little heavier and more cumbersome than infant car seats, but they need to be in order to protect your growing child. Many also come with a movable base that allows you to position it upright or backwards into a more supportive 'sleeping' position.

Boosters

A booster seat is basically an insert seat that slots on top of the back seat. The main benefit of boosters is that it raises your child to a good level to ensure maximum protection from the seat-belt whilst still providing adequate support for their neck and back. Many booster seats also have side inserts that the belt feeds through - providing extra protection in the event of a crash. Children from 4 years can use a booster seat, though particularly small children might be required to stay in their combination/forward-facing seat for a little while longer.

If your child still likes to sleep on the go, opt for a seat with a flexible head rest that will support their head and neck - they're a godsend for long journeys.

Seatbelts

Children are usually ready to use the seat-belt alone by the time they reach 11 years old (or 135cm if they get there first). Though there's no point in rushing to get rid of the booster - if they're below 135cms, they'll always be better protected in the booster seat.

Most children know how to use seatbelts properly by this age and would have probably been strapping themselves into their boosters for some time now. Diagonal seat belts are safer than lap belts as they provide additional protection across the chest but if you only have a lap belt (often in the middle seat) it's better to put this across than have nothing.

Isofix car seats - what are they and should I get one?

Isofix is now regarded as the safest possible method of car seat installation and the system has been swiftly adapted by vehicle manufacturers across the globe. Isofix points create a solid link between the car and your child's seat to ensure a flawless fit that will provide optimum safety and protection for your child. Whether or not you can use an isofix car seat all depends on if you have the sufficient 'isofix points' fitted to the back seat of your car that enable you to quite literally 'plug' the car seat in.You can check if you have the points in place by feeling down the back of your rear seat. In fact there are usually little isofix tags in place to indicate exactly where the points are positioned. If you can't find them and would like to consider having them installed, it's always worth contacting your vehicle manufacturer to find out if it's possible and if so, what costs are involved.

The best thing about isofix is that it's a universal system so you can be sure (in most cases) that an isofix seat will fit your car. As always though, it's essential to check that the seat you want to buy provides a great fit for your car and a trained fitter (or your vehicle manufacturer) should be able to provide further advice on this.



Find a really useful Q&A section and much more on The THINK! Road Safety Website


ROSPA
is packed with all the latest stats and laws on child car seats.

Childcarseats.org - a resourceful and useful site with a link to local suppliers/advisers

Children should never travel on an adult's lap, or another child's lap.

Newborns can look and feel lost in first-stage car seats. Use a wrap around body support with Velcro fastening and head hugger, cushions and protects your little baby whilst in his car seat or buggy. They are recommended by midwives and special care baby units and are machine washable so hygienic and convenient and fit all makes of infant seats.

Put your child's car seat in the back seat, it is the safest place in the car because it is farthest away from a head on crash (the most common type of crash). Ensure that you always follow the manufacturers instructions as to how to install and use the car seat correctly. Ensure that the restraints are correctly positioned and tightened.

The strap that crosses the lower body should be situated over the pelvis, not across the tummy. The restraining straps should not be too slack, they should allow just enough room to slide your flattened fingers between the webbing and the child's body.

Difficult-to-fit car seats could be unsafe claims Which?

Some child car seats are so difficult to install that they could be unsafe, says Which? as it gives top marks to seats from Britax, Maxi Cosi, Mamas & Papas and Kiddy.

In its latest round of testing, Which? found the Renolux Next Confort was so complicated to fit, it concluded there was a high risk of installing the seat incorrectly and advises parents not to buy it.

Another seat, the Renolux 360 also performed poorly in Which?’s tests and was given ‘Don’t Buy’ status. Fitting this seat wasn’t quite so much of a problem, but it offered woeful protection in front crash tests. The shell of the seat was thrown forward and twisted violently so that the child would have collided with the seat in front.

The top-rated child car seats were: the Britax Baby-Safe Sleeper, the Maxi Cosi Cabriofix with Easyfix base, the Mamas & Papas Primo Viaggio Isofix, the KiddyInfinity Pro and the Britax KidFix (Isofix)

Which? tests what happens if a car is hit from the front at 40mph or the side at about 18mph. The legal standard uses much lower crash loads and doesn’t even consider what happens to a seat if a car is hit from the side. Which? bases its crash test standard on Euro NCAP, which tests cars on behalf of European consumers and shows how well they protect occupants in severe crashes. Which?’s testing is similar for child seats as it thinks children should be afforded the same protection as adults. Which? propels a Vauxhall Astra body down a track, stopping it sharply and filming the effects on a dummy in the seat. The dummy is wired to record crash test loads on the head, neck, chest and pelvis to show the likely effect on a child.

Which? also checks that each seat’s instructions are clear and the chair is easy to install and adjust in a range of cars. Which? believes that a difficult-to-install seat is more likely to be fitted incorrectly, compromising effective protection from injuries in a crash.

For more information see www.which.co.uk

Often a good idea to pack the car before putting the children in. Leave your children enough space. Don't pack the car so tightly that everyone is squashed in with no room to relax and just keep a small selection of items to hand.

Ensure that everything is secured in such a way that there is nothing for example that could shoot forward/sideways from the backseat or hatchback and hit or crush your child. Keep a
en route rubbish bag handy and back seat protectors are a useful addition to prevent the area underneath car seats becoming a sticky gooey mess.

For older children ensure they are giving the opportunity to use the toilet at any of your stops en route.

If possible sit beside your child in the back of the car he'll likely be much calmer as he won't feel so isolated as you are in sight and you can play with him and keep him busy. Do encourage children to be interested in passing countryside by answering all their questions and talking about what you see.

Above all if he starts to cry and get upset, stop the car at the next safe opportunity and take the time to calm him down. It's dangerous to drive when you are distracted, and it's hard on the baby to have his cries ignored.

Check that the volume of the radio/cassette/cd player in the rear of the car is not turned up too high; you don't want to damage their hearing.

Remember to attach sunshades to your rear car windows, always on the nearest window to your child, to protect him from UV rays and help prevent motion sickness.

Remember to fit a child view mirror to your windscreen before you leave so that you can have a good view of your child without having to turn around.

Only allow your children to play with hand-held computer games and picture books if they are not prone to motion sickness.