Car seat regulations in Germany
It is compulsory for children up to 12 years of age or less than 1.5 meters tall in Germany to travel in an approved car seat or booster. In case all other restraints are being used by other children in the car, the child may travel in the back seat with a seat belt.
It is compulsory for children under three years of age to be seated in a suitable car seat. Apart from this, no rearward facing infant seats are permitted to be used in the front of a vehicle with an airbag.
These laws are also applicable on taxi drivers. German taxis are bound by law to have a child seat available. The country follows strict rules over children’s car seats.
If the child is over 12 years of age but under 150cm, he is not required by law to use a car seat. The same law is applicable on those who are more than 150cm but less than 12 years of age. However the extra care needs to be taken to secure the child safely to the seat.
It is mandatory for the child seats to have passed an ECE-44 product safety test before being sold to the public. If you are to buy a car seat make sure that it has this test seal affixed to it in some way. Another significant thing to consider is the class of car seat which must be in accordance with the weight of your child. There are 4 different classes of car seats which are ordered from 0 to class 3.
The positioning of a car seat is also important as to have a car seat that is rear facing in a front passenger seat is against the law. Apart from this, it is also significant that you secure the child seat adequately with proper restraint system.
