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As far as we are aware, there are no fixed rules from standards, vehicle, or child safety seat manufacturers – there are some guidelines that have been put into publication, however, as we all know these are not always going to be suitable in real world scenarios.

Best Practice:

• It is important if the seats are touching each other, or the side of the vehicle, that the seats are not “compressed” in any way
• Another consideration is side curtain airbags, or airbags in general.
  • The child restraint can sometimes impede an airbag, or in some cases the airbag could deploy into the child safety seat if installed incorrectly, or with no room fo the airbag to deploy correctly
  • You need to always check for any airbag warnings in the “Child Restraint” (Or more correctly “Child Safety Seat” section of the vehicle owners manual, as well as the vehicles seating area – follow these guidelines if any are found
  • This does not always mean that no child restraint can be installed where an airbag may deploy, just follow directions correctly.

Please Note:

Generally speaking, the biggest issue is managing your clients expectation and reassuring their confidence to resolve any conflicting opinions.  Keep in mind that;

• Seats can be installed safely, touching each other or the door of the vehicle in some cases
• In some scenario’s it may actually be better to have a smaller distance between the vehicle and the restraint due to the way collision forces act.

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