Actually, it's the other way around- a front impact.

If you drive into something, you get thrown forwards.
For a young baby, whose neck is not strong enough, getting thrown forward can be fatal.
With the seat the other way round (forward facing), this would be the case.

With a rear-facing child seat and a collision from the rear, this protection isn't here.

Which is my point. Of course a full child seat is safer than a booster - but only for side impact crashed - which are much rarely than frontal impacts.

Frontal impacts (driving into something) are much more common than rear-impacts. Is this wasn't the case then we'd all get told to put babies in front-facing seats.


It's rather like those Daily Mail statistics that say if you eat five raw onions a day, you'll half the chance of getting a particular type of rare cancer.

Sounds worth doing (despite being pretty disgusting to eat and a way to lose all your friends), until you read a bit further into it and discover that only 1 in 100,000 people get this sort of cancer.

My child has just started taking a taxi service to school for which we are told we need to get a booster seat. He is 1 month shy of 8 yr old and 38 kg. We borrowed a neighbor's booster this morning as we don't have one since our car has built-in boosters. The taxi driver informed me that he does not have to be in a booster since he weighs more than the range indicated for boosters (15 - 36 kg). Can anyone confirm that this is correct? I see boosters that accomodate higher weight ranges in the USA but did not see any on the Suisse site I looked at. Thanks for any help you can provide!

It;s the weight, not the height that's crucial. If he's under 12 and less than 150cm tall then he needs a booster seat.

corrected that FY

As soon as one of those criteria is met, then he no longer need ones.

I have a half related question: is there a way to fit 3 carseats to the back side of a rather large car (i.e. audi a4 estate), and would that be somehow illegal? The current two seats we have take more space than a normal human, and I dont want to change my car if possible...

Thanks. I should read what I write.

So does anyone know where I can find a booster that will accommodate a child who is 141 cm tall and 38.78 kg?

If the seats can't fit in then you either need slimmer seats or a different car.

I have an LR3 and it could just get 3 seats side-by-side. Some seats are less wide.

Don't take a chance with your kids is what I say.
Jumbo. A simple booster is probably around 20 francs.

That's a good BMI your kid has, keep up the good work

Large on the outside and small on the inside. The rather large Audi Q5s are the same with regard to child seats.

A possible solution is for one of the adults to travel in the back between the two child seats and one of the children to travel in the front in their child seat.

Or ask Audi?

"Which" Magazine doesn't think it's possible and says your only option is a backless booster in the middle seat.

It's not illegal but if you have to strap in with seat belt each time then you end up breaking your hand each time and get good practice on your swearing... It is really hard to get 3 across, unless you have a VW Transporter or something like that!

That's a good BMI your kid has, keep up the good work


Thanks for your concern Sean
He has special needs (hence his taking a taxi to school) which require him to be on certain meds that tend to promote weight gain. It is the lesser of two evils...

Hi All,

We bought one of these recenlty: http://www.bubblebum.co/

It is great for travelling and can fit in the middle of two big car seats. We picked ours up in the US while we were out there but they are from a UK company and sold on Amazon and other websites....

They sell them here as well - Athleticum stock them. But they're quite small and not really ideal for more rotund children.

They have them here in the stores as well; bought ours at Migros Brico, great for travelling.

They are more for travelling and useful if you need a third seat in the middle.

We just have one kid and use the Romer Kid Fix (iso fix) seats as the main seat in both cars as these provide the best protection, then have boosters with arms for an extra seat (or can put two Kid fixes into one car). The Bubble bum could be used as a third seat or for when travelling and you need it for taxis...

Our boy and his friends are skinny as rakes.

So for us it's perfect for what we bought it for. Obivously you need to decide if it suits your needs and check the size and limitations (weight) for your child which is detailed on the website.

http://www.trunki.co.uk/categories/b...enboostapak_21 is also an option. I took this to the US last year filled with daipers - handy for taxis and so on.

Hello
I understand about the 12 years old and 150cm requirements for a childseat or a booster "cushion" for larger children.

I want to re-ask this question today because the understanding of the law may have changed.

Can a child under 12 years old in a full-backed kindersitz be allowed to sit in front passenger seat (with airbag active)?

Yesterday my swiss neighbour saw my son (8 years old 130cm) sitting infront and he was concerned that I will get a big giant fine if the police spots me.

Is this true, bearing in mind the recent traffic rules update?

My husband says it depends on the car and the seat regarding the airbag.
If your son sits too "forward" and the airbag is deployed... your son may become injured by the airbag. However, if the front passanger seat can be moved back far (moved as far back as possible) enough and your child car seat's back is thin... then it really shouldn't be a problem. All cars and airbags are different. Maybe it will state in your owners manual how far the passanger must sit to not be injured by the airbag or you can ask the car manufacturer.

When I was a kid in Switzerland I remember not being allowed in the front seat before the age of 12. However, that was a law before air bags. That said our car here in Canada states that the airbag needs to be turned off for passengers under 13 years or below a certain weight. Check your owners manual.