seven seat laws

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dondon80

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28
can anyone help i have a 1995 disco with seven seats,the seats in the boot are sideways with seatblets what age is it legal for a child to travel in the boot and would they need a booster seat ? i have looked on the net all morning and cant find anything :confused::confused:
 
You can put any child over the age of 3 into a side facing seat. But you're not allowed to use a seat belt or other child restraint on a side facing seat. But bear in mind that children take preference over Adults for seatbelted seats so you'd have to fill the front and rear seats with children before you were allowed to put kids on side facing seats.

so 3 adults & 4 kids would mean all kids in forwards facing seats + 1 driver & 2 adults in side facing seats.

2 adults & 5 kids 1 child could use the side facing seats. As the other forwards facing seats would be fully used up.

Obviously common sens says put oldest/largest child in side facing seats.
 
But you're not allowed to use a seat belt or other child restraint on a side facing seat.

Quick question for ya Redhand, Doe's this mean we shouldn't fit any seatbelts in the rear of the 88" which has side facing seats, or is it ok to fit belts if kids ain't using em ?
 
side facing seats DONT legally require seat belts but if fitted they must be used.
as for using the front seats before the back seats i would like to know just where you got that one from ?

thats like saying if you get on a bus you must sit in the front seats before any one can sit towards the back.

it is not a legal requirment to put any one in front seats before you use back seats. as long as the seating is fixed and legal then the children can sit in the rear seats the boot seats or the front seat as long as they are seated and belts used if fitted on side facing seats and the vehicle is insured to carry the seating capacity. :)

this is something i know for sure as i have been in court for seating in a transit mini bus i used to own !
 
Last edited:
Ok right, similar question on mine.

I don't have to deal with little ones, my little brother's above the height limit and 12 in december.

Basically 3 upfront on my 88" series 3 and 4 sideways seats in the rear.
One belt each for the front and only two on the back, the two with belts in the rear are opposite each other closest the front.

Do I have to fill the front seats before someone can use the back? I.e. can my lil bro use the back in a belt if he wants while I drive or my dad drives? Because the mid seat in the front is fairly, close to EVERYTHING involving the gears and overdrive let alone intruding in the drivers footwell

And I can still put 4 in the back aslong as the two closest the front are in the belts right? And them being over 14 it's down to them to use them but I shall remind them.

I've read a few other threads and googled it but there's nothing specific to this scenario that I could find, and the information was vague at times.
 
passengers can sit where ever they want in a vehicle as long as they use seat belts if fitted as required by law, they are old enough and the insurance covers the number of seats in the vehicle :)

you dont have to 'fill' the front seats thats a load of cock !
 
You can't use a seatbelt on a side facing seat to restrain a child because they don't meet EU legislation and therefore are not classed as suitable restraints and because the law is an Ass it has decided that you can carry children in a sidefacing seat but you can't restrain them??

Using the front seats first is simple children take preference over adults when it comes to using seatbelts. As you can't use the seatbelts in a sidefacing seat. Common sense tells you that children will need to be placed in seats where belts are available until they've all been used up. Then you can carry them unrestrained in the rear side facing seats.
 
For Clarificaion from here Child Car Seats : The Law : From September 06 : FAQ

Q: I have sideways facing seats in my vehicle, can I still carry children in them from September?

A: Sideways facing seats are not a safe way to travel. An adult seat belt is not designed to restrain an occupant who is sitting sidewards, and the same applies to child seats.

Seats tested to UN ECE R44 are not designed, or intended for, vehicle's sidewards facing seats, and do not count as the correct restraint for the child. A child restraint cannot be used on a sidewards facing seat.

And according to Dft website Think! | Children: Child car seats
no Children at all may uise a side facing seat (Though I doubt their advice/statements are legally correct)
3. What do I do if my vehicle -
- has no seat belts, or no rear seat belts?
If a vehicle has no seat belts - if it's a classic car, for example - a child aged 3 years and over is allowed to travel in a rear seat unrestrained.

A child under 3 years old may not travel in cars, vans or goods vehicles which do not have seat belts.

- only has lap belts?
A child is not exempt from using a child restraint in a seat with only a lap belt.

It is difficult to find a child seat or booster that the manufacturer has designed to be used just with a lap belt and you may need to talk to a specialist supplier. Alternatively, consider fitting a lap and diagonal belt in the car. If a manufacturer says that a particular child restraint system is only suitable for use with a lap and diagonal belt, or that their product should not be used with a lap belt only, you should take this seriously.

A lap belt doesn't provide maximum protection for a child, whether it's used with a booster or not. The child's unrestrained upper body is liable to pivot around the lap belt with the increased risk of injury to the soft tissues of the abdomen. A lap belt may also be difficult to fit properly on a child.

Children may need to be moved round the vehicle so that they use seats where their child seats/boosters can be fitted, including a front seat - but check advice about children and air-bags - see Qs 4 and 5.

- has no rear seats?
Apart from those in rear-facing seats when there is an active front air-bag, children can travel in the front seat of any vehicle provided they are properly restrained. This includes 2-seaters or convertibles, even if the top is down.

See more on baby seats and air bags - see Q5.
See more on child seats and air bags - see Q6.

- has sideways-facing seats?
There's no legal requirement to fit seat belts in sideways-facing seats. The human body bends forward from the waist - not sideways - so the potential for internal and spinal injury is high if a passenger uses a seat belt in a sideways-facing seat. For similar reasons child seats and boosters cannot be approved for using in a sideways-facing seat.

Therefore, a child who is required to use a child seat/booster (ie, all those under 135 cm tall who are also under 12 years old) cannot travel in a sideways-facing seat. A child who needs to use a child seat or booster must use a forward or rear-facing seat.


If anyone knows of any legally binding ruling or official website that contradicts the above info Please feel free to post a link. Where childrens lives are concerned I don't think anyone posting "well I don't agree because" is worth the screen space they take up.
 
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as for using the front seats before the back seats i would like to know just where you got that one from ?

So would I. As I'm not aware of ever having said that myself. I did say that you are required to use front and rear seatbelted seats before placing children in side facing seats. But that's not the same as your statement. :confused:
 
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