28 May 2009     All  children up to the age of seven years will need to be secured in an approved restraint or booster seat when travelling in vehicles, under new road safety laws to be introduced in November this year to better protect children from serious injury.

Victorian Roads and Ports Minister Tim Pallas said the new laws were part of a national approach to protect children travelling in vehicles and are based on the latest safety research available.

 “Parents are currently moving their children into adult seat belts from about the age of five and half years – but research suggests this is too early. Children up to seven years are at least four times more likely to sustain a head injury in a crash when sitting in an adult seat belt.

 “Seating children aged four to seven-years-old in an appropriate booster seat reduces their risk of injury in a crash by almost 60 per cent, compared to sitting with only an adult seat belt.”

The national age-based changes to child restraint and booster seat rules require:

• Children less than six months to be secured in an approved, properly fastened and adjusted, rear-facing child restraint, such as an infant capsule;
• Children from six months to less than four years must be secured in an approved, properly fastened and adjusted, rear-facing child restraint or a forward-facing child restraint with an inbuilt harness; and
• Children aged from four years to less than seven years must wear an approved, properly fastened and adjusted, forward-facing child restraint with in-built harness or an approved booster seat which is properly positioned and fastened.

New safety laws relating to children up to seven-years-old travelling in vehicles with two or more rows of seats will also be introduced later this year.

Under the changes to be introduced in November 2009:

• Children under four years will not be allowed to travel in the front seat of a vehicle with two or more rows; and
• Children aged between four and less than seven years will not be allowed to travel in the front seat of a vehicle with two or more rows, unless all other back seats are occupied by children aged under seven.

“Children have a 40 per cent greater risk of injury sitting in the front seat of a vehicle than in the back seat should a crash occur,” Mr Pallas said.  “So these laws aim to keep children out of the front seat of a vehicle where possible to further reduce their injury risk in a crash.”

Mr Pallas said when choosing an appropriate child restraint, families generally used a child's weight as a guide. The new laws will make this process easier by using a child's age as a guide.

 “For many families with young children there won’t be any change to current arrangements as the types of child restraints and booster seats people need to use isn’t changing – just the age categories in which they need to be used,” he said.

 “The changes will mean a lot of children will need to stay in an approved, properly fastened and adjusted child restraint or booster seat for longer.  We recognise this will change travelling arrangements for some families, especially if they have to put their child back into a child restraint or booster seat – but the safety benefits are worth it.

The new laws will come into effect on 9 November 2009.

From a media release by VIC Roads, 28 May 2009

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