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Parent Category: Practicalities

Created on Tuesday, 17 February 2009 18:46

Last Updated on Friday, 28 December 2012 19:04

Let your Child's Safety Seat not be an Ejector Seat

Road safety is top priority, even more so when children ride in the car. Starting April 8, 2008, older child safety seat systems that have neither the ECE 44/03 nor the ECE 44/04 seal may no longer be used. This applies to those systems, which were manufactured until about September 1995. We want to help you find a suitable new seat for your little one. Whether car or bicycle: minors may only accompany in specific seats.

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Approved Restraint Systems

Apart from the mandatory seat belts for adults, §21 StVO prescribes that children up to 12 years may not be taken along without a special child safety seat. This relates to the smaller body size of children in this age. The child safety seat will cause the safety belt not to lay on the neck of the child but on his shoulder.  Without the elevated seat, the normal seat belt would be fatal for children in an accident. The parent's obligation to provide for such seat applies not only to parents but for all adults who even only occasionally take children along with them, such as grandparents or neighbors.

Officially approved seating systems can be recognized by the orange test seal. They were built, tested, and approved to meet the ECE Regulation no. 44. Children, up to the age of 12, who are less than 150 cm high, are only allowed to be transported with a restraint system in the car. The restraint system must also support the weight of the child and also must be licensed for the vehicle. When buying, make sure that the seat fits the respective vehicles when more than one will be used.

Hint: when buying a used system: Be careful when a seat has already been involved in an accident. It should no longer be used, because hidden damages can be a safety risk.

Weight classes vital

The ECE prescribes different restraint systems for each weight class of children. The seat must be able to hold back the weight of the child completely. The following table provides an overview of the five weight classes of ECE.

When installing also consider further specialties: Child Class 0 has to be used opposite or perpendicular to the direction of travel, Class 0 + is used in the entirely opposite way.

Caution: Baby shells may only be built in backwards, i.e. opposite travel direction. Child safety seats of the weight class I have are to be installed in or against the direction of travel, seats in classes II usually in the direction of travel and child seats in Class III exclusively in the direction of travel.

Children up to 12 may only be taken along with appropriate and approved seats. Only children aged 13 years or those who are taller than 150 cm may be buckled up with the regular safety belt. The requirement of child seats also applies to children who are heavier than 36 kg (maximum weight class), except they the body does fit into a normal seat. In this case, however, you should apply for an exception at the motor vehicle department of your town.

Special Features for Vehicles

The security of a child' seat is not increased with a waist belt for the child. For this reason, §21 Ia StVO exceptionally allows to transport children over the age of three without a child seat, when no other seats with regular breast belts are free, especially when they are already occupied by other children.

When your car is equipped with three adjustable three-point-belts then you can apply at the motor vehicle department a single-exception-approval when the manufacturer confirms its suitability for child protection.

Caution: On passenger seats with airbags, child seats with reboard systems may not be installed against to the travel direction. For this reason, many vehicles, especially with only two seats, have the possibility that the airbag can be turned off when a child is seated there. A child in the direction of travel on the passenger seat is also possible with air bags, for safety's sake, the seat should be in the rearmost position. The child seat is usually best on the back seat.

Also for bicycles and mopeds, special safety rules exist for children under seven years. They may only be taken by persons who are themselves at least 16 years old. Furthermore, it must be ensured that the feet of the child not get into the spokes (§ 21 III StVO).

Consequences of Violations

When children are not properly secured, a fine will be imposed on the driver with points in Flensburg.´ Verlinke zu Traffic´  When a child is transported without a child seat but buckled up you can be warned with a fine.

If a child is hurt or killed due to inadequate safety precautions, the driver will be subject to a criminal prosecution for negligent bodily injury or death - regardless of who caused the accident.

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