Child Restraint Laws

Hi All,

Just wondering where to find info on the requirements for child restraints?

We have an F250 spacecab and if the baby seat fits in the back is it legal to carry a baby in a space cab???

Cheers
Lisa

Hey Lisaqg
I'm not sure baout the spacecab but this booklet may help you out?

http://www.atsb.gov.au/pdfs/child_restraints.pdf

I have seen them in the back of space cabs before, so I assume that they are legal, but it is worth finding out for sure - you don't want to find out the hard way.

I can't see why there would be any special regulations for the spacecab - as long as the seat fits and the seatbelt holds it correctly.

If you are worried, you can call your local QLD Ambulance (not sure if they do it in mt Isa but I can't see why not) and ask them to check that it is correctly installed - they do this for free. We had to make an appt at our QLD ambulance for ours but some of them you can just drop in.

Legally, Australia' child restraint laws are actually pretty bad. You have to have your child in a seat that passes the relevant Australian Standards (they should have a sticker on them that says this) until they are just 12 months old and that is it. I think they are reviewing this at the moment.

The Australian Road Rules state that as long as the child can be properly restrained and adjusted (whether it be a newborn, toddler or child up to the age of 16) it is legal for the child / baby / toddler to be in any motor vehicle, including a Space Cab!! :D

Properly restrained in a suitable and approved in a baby car seat, booster seat (depending upon the size of the child) or just being restrained with a seatbelt (if the child is larger in size). There is NO age restriction, it is purely based on what is reasonable considering the childs' size.

The only exemption is if the baby under the age of one and is travelling in a mini bus or a taxi (as they are passenger transport vehicles). This is where the baby can be seated on the adults lap UNLESS the adult is sitting in the front row. (Basically it means to sit in the rear row of the vehicle if you have no child restraint and want to carry a baby on your lap).... However the adult must still where their seatbelt.

If there are two or more rows of seats in the vehicle, the child must NOT be seated in the front row unless restrained, fastened and properly adjusted with a suitable child restraint or a seatbelt.

As these are Australian Road Rules they are effective Australia wide as each State or Territory has them incoporated into their State legislation.

Hope this helps!!!