Many thanks
Can anyone tell me what the legal requirements are for children to be in car seats in Switzerland? I have tried searching but can't come up with the answer. Are the laws the same as you cross over into France and / or Germany?
Over here they say the following -> http://www.swissinfo.ch/fre/societe/...06192000&ty=st
Starting from 1st of April 2010, children up to 12 must be in a child seat, currently the limit is 7 years old. If the child is over 150 centimeters tall, they don't have to be in a child seat.
Don't know what it's like in the other EU countries.
*edit* IMO, 150cm is rather tall... I know a ton of people considerably shorter than this. Seems like some crazy politicians forgot to think this over very well...
This is crazy my son as a car seat he his 6 years old, and my daughter will be 9 years old soon and currently as a booster seat she is 141cm tall and now as to go back to a car seat . My nephew is 11 years old and is under 150cm and as to go back to sitting in a car seat, while is twin sister is sister is just over 150cm so she does not have to.
I can only think that this is the "critical" height for adult seatbelts to do their job correctly without injuring the passenger.
Our oldest son, between 10-20th percentile for height, is probably going to be in a car seat 'til he's 20!
yes, this is funny.
my neighbour is 149cm tall, shes 70 years old.
i must let her know..
I think this legislation has been really poorly thought out. What if you want to take a taxi with the family after a holiday etc? How many taxis have 2 or 3 full child seats to hand? What if you have 3 or more under 12, can you really fit 3 full size seats in the back of an average car?
I can appreciate the saefty issues, but surely booster seats would be adequate to overcome the seat belt "safe height".
Fully agree with you i often have my kids friends with me and it will be impossible for me to fit 3 big car seats in the back of my vehicle
Taxis should be exempt from the rules. I've traveled short distances holding my son from the train station to home.
In in other countries, taxis are classed as public passenger vehicles and are exempt from many rules - including that the driver doesn't have to wear a seatbelt around town because he is expected to get out and help get luggage into the boot.
I'm probably having a bad French day, but where does it say that it has to be a full car seat? Everything I've read on this so far has given me the impression that booster cushions are just fine, as long as they tick whatever CE kitemarking box applies.
It surely can't be full car seats, the sort of ones with headrests that you use for pre-schoolers. I've never seen one of those for kids over 11 (manufacturers' usually give 4-11 as a range) and even then they're mostly designed to remove the back and just use the cushion once the kid hits around age 7.
Here's hoping boosters count, else I need to go shopping!
kodokan
Yes, you are correct. They talk about Kinderrückhaltevorrichtungen and the labeling is what counts:
Ab dem 1. April 2010 müssen Kinder, wenn sie kleiner sind als 150 Zentimeter, bis zwölfjährig mit geprüften und gekennzeichneten Kinderrückhaltevorrichtungen gesichert werden. Bisher lag diese Altersgrenze bei sieben Jahren.Geeignete Kinderrückhaltesysteme (Sitzerhöher, Babyschalen, Sitzerhöher mit Rückenlehne, Isofix Kindersysteme usw.) sind im bfu- / TCS-Ratgeber "Auto-Kindersitze" zu finden.
Ein System gilt unabhängig des Preises als Kindersitz, wenn
a) am System der ECE R 44 Label angebracht ist und b) die Seriennummer mit 03 oder 04 beginnt (ab 01.04.2010).
http://www.bfu.ch/german/strassenver...ndersitze.aspx
Here's the TCS link which also provides there latest car seat safety tests. I'm pleased to see that they've tested a few more seat models to previous years:
You need to go shopping as do myself & many oher parents who currently use booster seats. The car seat manufacturers must be loving this.
Sorry to be a bother, but every day's a bad German day for me! Does this mean that boosters are ok, as long as they have the right sort of number on them?
kodokan
Yes, that is correct. And as far as I could deduct from this one , all seats newer than 1995 should be ok. But better check just to be sure.
Sorry to take this off at a slightly different tangent...my husband has been told by a colleague (who claims to ahve closely studied the new law) that it's illegal for any child to travel in the front of a vehicle in Switzerland.
Does anyone know if this is true? I'd love a link to it in English if possible!
We have 2 children, a 3rd on the way, and our car has 3 isofix points, but one is in the front. Is this going to be a problem?
Many thanks
Right, got it sorted now - thanks for the TCS link, as the info is also on there in French.
"À partir du 1er avril 2010, les enfants mesurant moins de 150 centimètres devront être protégés jusqu'à l'âge de 12 ans par un dispositif de retenue pour enfants testé et approuvé. Jusqu'à présent, la limite d'âge était de 7 ans. En fonction du poids de l'enfant, le véhicule devra être équipé d'un siège de bébé, d'un siège d'enfant ou d'un siège d'appoint. Les personnes plus âgées ou plus grandes doivent s'attacher avec les ceintures de sécurités normales.
Les dispositifs de retenue devront satisfaire au moins aux normes de sécurité prévues par l'accord de l'ONU dans la version 03 (Commission économique pour l'Europe, règlement n° 44 de la CEE-ONU). Les parents peuvent contrôler la conformité en vérifiant que l'étiquette du siège porte la mention "03" (ou plus). L'utilisation des dispositifs de retenue des versions 01 ou 02 ne sera plus autorisée partir du 1er avril 2010."
The first para specifically mentions that depending on the weight of the child, the vehicle must be using a baby seat, a child seat or a booster seat. I'll just potter out and check the serial numbers now, although mine should be ok, I think, as they were bought around 2004.
kodokan
We did this one a while back - the conclusion was that kids were allowed (better if they were out of rear-facing seats) but it had to be with a suitable child seat up until the age of 7 (I guess that'll be 12 in April) and with the airbag turned off (I think...).
Hang on a tick, I'll see if I can find it again...
*2 mins later*
Yep, that's roughly right, at least for Vaud - don't know if it's cantonal law, though:
Passagers et enfants :
Sur les sièges avant et arrière, il est obligatoire d’utiliser un dispositif de retenue pour enfants homologué ECE 44, adapté à l’âge, à la taille et au poids de l’enfant.
Enfants de moins de 7 ans: ils ne doivent pas voyager sur le siège avant sans utiliser un système de retenue adapté.
Si l’enfant est placé sur le siège avant dans un dispositif « reboard » dos à la route, l’airbag passager doit être désactivé (risque mortel pour l’enfant).
Enfants de 7 à 12 ans: ils doivent utiliser la ceinture de sécurité ou un système de retenue adapté à leur taille lorsqu'ils voyagent sur les sièges avant ou arrière.
Enfants dès l’âge de 12 ans
Considérés comme des adultes, ils doivent être attachés à l’avant comme à l’arrière, comme les adultes.
kodokan
Edit for translation: 'For seats both front and back, it is compulsory to use an approved child restraint system ECE 44, adapted to the age, height and weight of the child.
Children less than 7: must not travel in the front seat without using an appropriate restraint system. If the child is placed in the front seat using a rear-facing car seat, the airbag must be turned off (fatal risk for the child)
Children 7 to 12: must use the seatbelt or a child restraint system suitable for their height when travelling in front or back seats.'
Thank you, that's great news
There was a similar thread about this: Kids car seat in the front -- airbags on or off?
Not allowing children has to be wrong for the following reasons, in my opinion:
1) What do you do in a 2-seater car?
2) why would cars have an airbag on/off function for child seats (look at the picture on the airbag on/off lable and you'll see them using a child seat as the example)
3) why have an isofix seat in the front?
Would be interested to know if there is a definite law against it, but until I read it, I'll not believe it
And for kitty, here's a link to the same wording for Geneva, to smugly show your husband's colleague :
http://www.genevefamille.ch/N117625/...n-voiture.html
kodokan
You are allowed by law to put a baby capsule in the front seat, but you need to turn off the airbag.
I've seen many parents with the capsule in the front seat - in 2 seater cars and non-2 seater cars so they can tend to the baby (I assume putting the dummy back in - that requires me to be very flexible and bend around into the back seat )
Our car manual shows 2 car seats in the back and one in the front too (where the iso-points are), but we can physically fit 3 seats in the back (baby, plus toddler seat and bigger kids seat). I have 3 Römer seats and the narrowest seat is the bigger kids seat (without harness), so most cars should be able to fit 3 of these, or not?