Children in a car

Key rules and safety features

All children under 135 cm should use a car seat when travelling by car. However, there is no barrier to children using car seats anymore, given that the seat is manufactured for the child's height and weight.

Children under 150 cm must not sit in the front seat before an active safety pad. If the air pad has been disconnected or disabled by other means, it is safe for children to sit in the front seat.

Reverse child car seats

Backward-facing chairs are much safer for children than forward-facing chairs. In most traffic accidents, a car is hit, which means that in backward-facing chairs, the child’s head falls back into the chair. In forward-facing chairs, however, the child’s head and body throws forward. Nothing is affected by the child, except the seat belts, which grip the body quite well, but the child’s head and neck are relatively exposed in forward-facing chairs compared to backward-facing ones. It is recommended that children are in backward-facing chairs for as long as possible and at least until the age of three.

Attaching a chair and child to the car

It is important to read the instructions carefully when a chair is mounted in a car, especially for the first time. If a chair is incorrectly mounted in a car or a child is incorrectly mounted in the chair, the equipment may be useless.

It is important to ensure that the belt is not twisted and that it fits firmly to the child. The belt may need to be tightened depending on how much the child is wearing each time.
Take special care to tighten the seatbelt if the child is wearing a downer or other clothing that uses air as insulation. When the child is hit hard, the air inside the garment will leave and there is a risk that the child will not be properly cut into the chair.
The safest way to attach chairs is with an isofix attachment directly into the frame of the car. Most new cars have isofix attachments and it is recommended to use a chair with such attachments.
Child car seats in use in Iceland must meet a European standard, either according to R44/04 or R129 (i-size). R129 is a newer and safer standard and is the only one that can be sold in Iceland. R44/04 is the older standard and some seats that are already in circulation are according to that standard and can be used until the end of their life.
The durability of child car seats is determined by the manufacturer. In most cases, infant seats last for 5 years and seats for older children for 10 years.
The chairs instructions indicate the height and weight for which the chair is intended. Children may grow too tall for a chair, and if a child's head reaches above the back of the chair, it grows out of the chair, even though it has not grown too heavy for the chair. In these cases, it is recommended to check the chairs manufactured for children up to 150 cm, regardless of weight.

A new safety standard

For many years, two safety standards have been in place in Europe and therefore in Iceland, the older one, R44-04 and the new one, R129 (i-size). It is now time that chairs can only be sold according to the new standard, but older chairs can continue to be used until the end of their life. The main innovations that come with the new standard are the following:

Much better measurement and analysis of impact during impact. Chairs are now tested with Q-bridge with 32 sensors that measure movements forward, backward and sideways instead of P-bridge with four sensors that only measure movements forward and backward.
Chairs are now tested against side impact which was not mandatory according to R44/04
All infant chairs now have ISOFIX equipment that secures the chair in the car and therefore reduces the risk of incorrectly mounting a chair in the car.
Children must now turn back in the direction of driving at least until 15 months of age and 76cm. It is recommended that children turn back in the direction of driving for much longer.
Chairs are now classified according to the height of children instead of only weight before. However, R129 chairs have maximum weight for children to be followed.

Used car seats for children

Used car seats for children can be a concern as it can be difficult to verify that the seat has not been hit by knockouts and cracks form under the covering. Therefore, it is not recommended to buy used seats from strangers.

Penalties

A fine for not using the correct child safety equipment in a car is ISK 30,000.
The same penalty shall apply to the driver if a child over 135 cm but under 15 years of age does not use the seat belt.