New Safety Regulation for Child Seats

Date: 11/7/2013

On 9 July 2013, a new child seat safety regulation known as Regulation 129 (Reg.129) came into force. Child seats approved under the old regulation will still be legal for use.

“The current Reg.44  child car seat regulation has been in place since the early 80s,” said Hamish McPhillips, Child Safety Centre – Business Development Manager, TRL, “but since this time the cars we drive have changed radically. We also have a better understanding of what actually happens during an accident. The new regulation takes this into account and is designed to make child car seats safer, as well as easier to buy, fit and use.”

There are now some important additional things to consider when buying a new child car safety seat. Most importantly, all new child car seats with the Reg.129  will now feature a new sizing system. Called i-Size, it grades seats based on a child’s height and weight, and is much more accurate than the previous system. All new vehicles will have ‘i-Size-ready’ seating positions. This means that any i-Size child seat will fit into any i-Size position in a car, regardless of make or design. A vehicle fitting list (showing which vehicles a child seat will fit) will no longer be required. For seats being used in pre-July 2013 vehicles, a vehicle fitting list will still be required.

“Another significant change is that all child seats with Reg.129 must now be tested to ensure that a child remains secure in their seat in the event of a side impact,” said Hamish McPhillips. “Side impact collisions account for around 25% of road accidents in Europe. Despite this, the current regulation takes no account of side impact protection. All Reg.129 child safety seats will also be limited to total combined weight of 33kg, to include the seat and occupant, and all Reg.129 child safety seats designed for children younger than 15 months must now be rear facing.”

Reg.129 will eventually replace the current regulation (Reg. 44), which is to be slowly phased out. The new regulation will initially only be applicable to ISOFIX child restraints with an internal harness. However, it will eventually apply to all child safety seats.

To check whether a car or child seat conforms to the new regulation, look out for the new i-Size logo.

Click here for more information.