Car seat tips in the UK

I have a friend who splits her time between here in London and South Africa. She just got back to London and wants me to look at her seats for her. I am a certified tech in USA, I do NOT intend to do any other seat checks while I'm over here.

What I'm asking is are there any major differences in laws/ safety standards over here? i know Isofix is LATCH, do they have top tethers? I'm just assuming everything is pretty much the same but I don't want to put her kids in any danger. She has a Volks Wagon something... Should I just not touch them and tell her to see a certified tech here? Do they even have techs here? LOL

I have yet to see a child properly restrained here. It's SO BAD, like appallingly awful. I want to cry every day.

All I know is that they FF horrifyingly early (9 months? not sure exactly, just remember that it's YOUNG) and that without ordering a Swedish seat (which I would totally do if I were there) the RF options are pretty limited.

Yeah, the only RF kids I've seen are (horribly) in buckets. I saw a MAYBE 18 month old FF in a convertible with the headwings way below his shoulders, harness only buckled over his legs leaning complety forward out the side hanging on the ceiling handle. He then managed to completely get out of the harness climbed over to mom and sat in the front seat. Mom did nothing, just kept driving.

MaggieQ said:

I have a friend who splits her time between here in London and South Africa. She just got back to London and wants me to look at her seats for her. I am a certified tech in USA, I do NOT intend to do any other seat checks while I'm over here.

What I'm asking is are there any major differences in laws/ safety standards over here? i know Isofix is LATCH, do they have top tethers? I'm just assuming everything is pretty much the same but I don't want to put her kids in any danger. She has a Volks Wagon something... Should I just not touch them and tell her to see a certified tech here? Do they even have techs here? LOL

I would advice her to go to a babygear shop. They can take a look at the seats there.

I have yet to see a child properly restrained here. It's SO BAD, like appallingly awful. I want to cry every day.

I know and i fully agree. But try and tell it to the parents! There is an app 50 % chance they will come up with a 100 excuses. There is also a high risk that they will tell you to put a sock in it and mind your own FU....G business

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Lena

No techs as such but local council may have a road safety officer who can advise. You are correct with the Isofix = latch thing. Top tether is becoming more common, but still only on a small percentage of cars.
Theres a pretty good overview of law/standards here: http://www.childcarseats.org.uk/law/
The FF thing is a pain, the 9 months mark has always been intended a guide for minimum, sadly most people view it as a hurdle to be reached and got over ASAP, as in the day they turn 9 months, they FF
In a previous life here I sold car seats and did fitting/checks, I have so many horror stories it's unreal!
Hope this helps

B x

- What's the age of her kids if I may ask?

- If I remember correctly South Africa recognize the European standard (ECE R44) for car seats.

- A large percentage of children in South Africa sit unrestrained. Regardless of age. Car seat safety is basically irrelevant down there

- Since habits of people are so different down there a parent even using a car seat is seen as doing an excellent job regardless if forward facing at 9 months. FF at forward facing is actually very common in UK and Germany so it's not typical for just South Africa.

- Laws and actual habits of parents are very different things. Parents keep children safe, not the law. Laws are the very minimum required and since it's barely enforced in most countries it's up to parents to keep kids safe. Laws are also very weak regarding car seat safety in pretty much every country.

A good example would be Sweden where there is no law saying anything about minimum rear facing time. I could theoretically forward face a 6-month old (if I could find a seat). Despite this most parents keep children rear facing until age 4 or longer because they know the safety difference is huge.

- If she wants to keep kids rear facing with a great allround seat Britax Hi-Way is a good choice. Light weight, compact, comfortable, rear facing limit of 25 kg (55 lbs) and fits pretty much any car. Fits very well from about 5 months to 4-4.5 years and doesn't need much room in the car.