Child Safety Car Seat in UAE - Importance & Rules

The Government of the UAE has passed an order in the year 2017 that children who are under the age of four years should be seated safely in the car during the journey. The car driver who does not take care of the child seating will be penalised with AED 400 and four black points.

To the UAE traffic, this has been a great change and also to the driving authorities as there were no such regulations and requirements for child safety seating arrangements in the cars. 

The UAE government also went a step further in standardizing and also specifying the car seat dealers who should follow high-quality standards in making the baby car seats. The baby car seats should pass all the tests including the crash tests, get approved and labelled. The baby car seats are only for the children based on their age and corresponding weight. 

The legal terms and conditions do not tell where the baby car seat should be fixed. The experts' recommendations and the European recommendations suggest that the baby car seats should be seated rear-facing car seats and this is until the age of four years. 

However different countries have different standards and age restrictions. In the USA, the age for baby car seating is from the age of two years. You should follow the law of the country and moreover it is for the safety of your child and your family. 

The car seat prices in the retail units range from AED 350 to 400 and this is increased up to AED 1500 for high-end models. 

Compulsory seat belts

Children who are up to the age of four years of age should be seated in the child safety seats. The driver will be penalised with AED 400 with an additional penalty of 4 black points. The car front seat passenger should be 145 cm tall & they should not be younger than ten years old. 

The most important responsibility of the parent is to think of their child's safety while driving the car. There are a number of cases where injuries, accidents and deaths are reported while driving in the UAE. The efficient utilisation of the child safety car seat will help to reduce the incidents.

According to the Road safety authorities in the UAE, the number of infants killed or injured in car accidents accounted for 62% which is an alarming situation. There might be various reasons for lapse of safety such as lack of awareness about safety measures or overconfidence in driving or some negligent driving behaviour. 

For the safety of children, there are different types of child safety seats that are available in the UAE. The baby seats are available in different price ranges for all the budget classes. The government wants to ensure and establish safety on the roads and in the car. 

Below are the important rules for child safety seats: 

Group 0 & Group 0+

Infant babies who are just born and nearly 18 months old should travel in Group 0 and above. The difference between the two seats is occupancy space where the seats of Group 0+ are large and can bear child weight upto 13kgs. The seats for group 0 can carry a weight of 10 kgs. 

These seats are rear-facing seats and these are recommended for babies allowing them for comfortable space in the car. The seating facility can be arranged with the clip and whenever you don't require it you can unclip which is easy, quick and comfortable. You can secure the car seat with a seat belt. 

Group 1

As the child grows the driver has to arrange for group 1 seats where the child is now graduated to the next level of seating. As the child's weight, height and body grow the group 0 seat will not be comfortable. The child should be seated in the forward-facing group1 seat. Group 1 seats are provided for children above the age of 9 months and this is until the age of four years. The childbearing weight is from 9 kgs to 18 kgs.

These seats are attached to the back seat where the child is strapped with protection. These seats provide sufficient space for head and sideways protection which ensures that even in an unforeseen event a child is best protected from injuries. 

Group 2

Child seating in Group 2 is a full booster seat that has a side-way cushion and side protection. For children who are between 3 years and 6 years, it is recommended to use this group 2 seating. If the child weight is between 15-25 kgs, these seats can be arranged. These seats are forward-facing and remain fixed in the car and the child can be strapped safely. 

Group 3

Under this category of seat arrangement, the child up to the age of 12 years can be provided for seating. The standard weight is 22-36 kgs. The group 2 seats can be converted into group 3 which is time-saving and also economical for the parents.