is it legal?

Question

i have been told that it is not legal to put a baby capsule or car seat in the front seat...i have a ute so i can only put it in the front....is it legal

Answer 1

It is the driver's responsibility to ensure that children under the age of 14 years are restrained correctly in accordance with the law.

Children up to 3 years old


In the Front Seat

The child MUST use the correct child restraint.

It is illegal to carry a child in a rear-facing child seat in the front, which is protected by an active frontal airbag.

In the Rear Seat

The child MUST use the correct child restraint.

In a licensed taxi or licensed hire car, if a child restraint is not available then the child may travel unrestrained in the rear. This is the only exception for children under 3, and has been introduced for practical rather than safety reasons. You should always think about ways to make sure that a child seat is available.


It is the driver's legal responsibility to ensure that the child is correctly restrained.

Answer 2

Car seat and capsule manufacurers state that car seats and capsules must not be fitted to a seat with an air bag, of cource this is a grey area as some cars are coming out with air bags in the rear. There is no hard ruling to state that
a child seat cannot be fitted to the front seats, but for
safty reasons it is advisable to fit a child seat in the rear seats.
ADR rules state under no circumstances should an air bag fitted standard by the maker of the vehicle, be deactivated or rendered unusable, this is an ADR rule that applies to the whole country, not just to individual states. your car would be unroadworthy, illegal and totaly uninsured in the event of an accident.
The switch you read about from others is in fact illegal!!!
Australian law also states it is illegal to carry a child under the age of 12 in the front seats.

Answer 3

As far as legal issues are concerned, it varies by state, and by vehicle, but if your care has airbags the child safety seat CANNOT be in the front (by federal law) unless the airbag is switched off. Generally speaking, only two-seat vehicles (pickups and sports cars) have a switch for this, and they reset themselves each time you start the car -- so you'll have to be diligent, and many children are killed in the front seat because parents forget to turn it off, or don't bother to do it right away.

As far as "safest for your baby" is concerned, there's no question: back is better. If you have an airbag and it goes off, it will impact the back of your child's seat, and likely break it -- and your child's neck will likely be broken. Children -- many, many children -- die this way each year. Even without an airbag, the back seat is safer because you (as a driver) won't be distracted by your baby.

You say you have a "ute", which I take to mean "Sport Utility Vehicle" -- SUVs have back seats, and so that's where your child seat should be. Period. If you have some kind of two-seater vehicle, you can use the front seat, but for reasons listed above I'd strongly recommend getting a car more suited to family life.

Finally, for those "I won't get in an accident, and I want to see my baby's face" types: a few years back, a father had his child in the front seat and forgot to turn the airbag off. He had just pulled out of a parking space, and had a minor shunt with another car pulling out. The car was barely damaged, but the airbag went off -- and his child was killed.

As a lesson to other parents, who (despite best intentions) think that this won't happen to them, they charged this guy with involuntary manslaughter, AND put him on television: he had to star in PSAs in which he explained how he murdered his child. Using that language.

Meanwhile, I have twins. They're nearly two years old now, and they've been just fine in the back seat, even when they were rear-facing; they don't need to see you to be safe and happy. In fact, given the number of times that they puked or cried or made strange noises, it's a good thing they were in the back: I had no choice but to pull off the road to take care of them, whereas if one was in the front I might be tempted to deal with it while driving, and that's a recipe for disaster.

Answer 4

It is usually legal, but you MUST be able to switch off the airbag on that side. Otherwise, a minor fender-bender could kill the child. Some utes have this switch from the factory, or you can have it installed. Check with your local police (and your friendly car dealer) in case they have different rules where you live.

Answer 5

it depends on the type of car seat, but exponentially it is safer for a child to be in the back seat, especially if you vehicle is equipped with Airbags.

Answer 6

depends on the State you are in but I think most of them want the car seat in the back.

Answer 7

You should be able to disable the air bags on the passenger side. Check in your cars manual to see how, or contact the manufacturer.

It shouldn't be illegal, but yes, it is a lot safer for the child to be in the back seat.

Good luck!

Answer 8

you can put it in the front if there is no other option available. make sure the airbag is disabled.