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Babies and children
Babies aged 0 to 6 months must be secured in an approved rearward facing baby capsule or infant restraint that is properly fastened and adjusted.
Babies and children aged between 6 months and 4 years of age must be secured in either an approved rearward facing child restraint or an approved forward facing child restraint with built-in harness that is properly fastened and adjusted. It is recommended that a baby remain in an approved infant restraint for as long as possible.
Children who have reached 4 years of age must be secured in an approved booster seat with a H-harness or a booster seat with a secured adult seatbelt that is properly fastened and adjusted. The child must be secured in this manner up until they turn 7 years of age.
The rules recognise that some children may be too large or too small for a specific type of child restraint. If your child is too small to move into the next level of restraint, you should keep your child in the lower level restraint for as long as possible (for example, a child who has turned 4 but is too small for a booster seat should remain in a forward facing child restraint with a built-in harness). If your child is too large to fit into a child restraint specified for your child's age, your child may move into the next level of restraint. A child is too tall for a booster seat when the level of the child’s eyes is above the level of the back of the booster seat.
Seating children in the front passenger seat - Whether your child can sit in the front passenger seat will depend on the age of the child and whether there is more than 1 row of seats in the car.
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If the car has 1 row of seats only (for example, a ute) a child of any age can sit in the front seat if the vehicle has only 1 row of seats provided they are properly restrained. If the vehicle has a passenger airbag fitted, a rearward facing child restraint should not be used.
Where there are 2 or more rows of seats - a child under 4 years of age cannot sit in the front seat of a vehicle that has more than 1 row of seats, even if the child is 3 years of age and large enough to sit in a booster seat. A child aged between 4 and 7 years of age cannot sit in the front seat of a vehicle that has more than 1 row of seats, unless all the other seats are occupied by children under 7 years of age.
Penalties: The driver's responsibility - The driver is responsible for ensuring that all people travelling in their vehicle are correctly restrained. If they - or their passengers - are not restrained correctly, they risk being fined $300 and three demerit points for each unrestrained or incorrectly restrained child in the vehicle. The only exemptions are: taxis and limousines where no child restraint is supplied or on medical grounds where a certificate is provided by a doctor. If more than 1 seatbelt offence occurs within a 12-month period, an additional 3 demerit points will apply. The additional demerit point penalty will apply to driver-related offences for seatbelts.
So, Mum and Dad & Nan and Pop, love them and secure them too!
A/Sr. Sgt. Doc Newman - NHW Police Liaison Officer – Gold Coast Traffic Branch – Coomera Station -Tel: 55736115 newman.gregorym@police.qld.gov.au
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