The use of child restraints is to keep our children safe. All children must be safely fastened in the correct child car seat for their age and size. A child who is properly secured in an approved child car seat is less likely to be injured or killed in a car crash than one who is not.
The national child restraint laws are:
- Children up to the age of six months must be secured in an approved rearward facing restraint
- Children aged from six months old but under four years old must be secured in either a rear or forward facing approved child restraint with an inbuilt harness
- Children under four years old cannot travel in the front seat of a vehicle with two or more rows
- Children aged from four years old but under seven years old must be secured in a forward facing approved child restraint with an inbuilt harness or an approved booster seat
- Children aged from four years old but under seven years old cannot travel in the front seat of a vehicle with two or more rows, unless all other back seats are occupied by children younger than seven years in an approved child restraint or booster seat
- Children aged from seven years old but under 16 years old who are too small to be restrained by a seatbelt properly adjusted and fastened are strongly recommended to use an approved booster seat
- Children in booster seats must be restrained by a suitable lap and sash type approved seatbelt that is properly adjusted and fastened, or by a suitable approved child safety harness that is properly adjusted and fastened.
If your child is too small for the child restraint specified for their age, they should be kept in their current child restraint until it is safe for them to move to the next level. If they are too large for the child restraint specified for their age, they may move to the next level of child restraint. Every child is different, but as a general guide you should only move your child to the next level of protection when they no longer fit in their current child car seat.
Often parents move children out of their booster seat as soon as possible (when they turn seven) but it is important not to move a child into a seat belt until they can achieve a good seatbelt fit. To be safest in a crash a child aged over seven needs to be in a booster seat until they are at least 145cm tall. On average, Australian children will not reach a height of 145cm until about 11 years of age. When they should move to a seatbelt depends on the size of the child and the car in which they are travelling. The simplest way to check is to use the five-step test.
The five-step test can help assess whether a child is big enough to be safely restrained by a seatbelt. Answering Yes to each step means the child is ready for a seatbelt. The child should be able to:
- Sit all the way back against the seat back.
- Bend their knees comfortably over the front edge of the vehicle seat.
- Sit with the sash belt across their mid-shoulder.
- Sit with the lap belt across the top of their thighs.
- Stay seated in this position for the whole trip.
A child aged seven years and over can legally sit in the front seat of a car when using a suitable booster seat or properly adjusted seatbelt. However, it is recommended that children remain sitting in the back seat until they're at least 12.
Narrandera Shire Council is encouraging residents to take advantage of a free child restraint check to ensure their child restraints are correctly fitted. Contact Council's Road Safety Officer on 02 6959 5510 for a free restraint check. Numbers are limited.
Photo caption: Children should move to the next type of restraint when they no longer fit in their current child car seat and should sit in the back until they are over 12 years.
