Are you aware of the age that kids can sit in the front seat of a car?
Being allowed to sit in the front seat of the car is a big milestone when you’re a child. It feels awfully grown up, like you’re a proper adult. But things are different now to when we were children, seat belts didn’t become a legal requirement in the back seats of cars until 1992 and car seats became legally mandatory for young children in 2006 under EU regulations.
So things were a lot looser, shall we say and many of us were allowed in the front seats of the car from a young age.
But things are different now and parents are far more aware of car seat safety and more cautious about kids in the car in general. But this doesn’t stop kids from wanting to sit in the front seat, and pestering us to do so.
What is the age that kids can sit in the front seat of the car?
According to the RSA, there is actually no legal age that children are permitted to sit in the front seat of the car. As long as your child is using the right child car seat for their height and weight, which they must do if they are under 150cm in height or 36kg in weight. Once they reach this threshold they can sit in the front seat without a child car seat.
However, it should be noted that it is illegal to use a rear-facing child car seat in a passenger seat with an active airbag. This is because deployment of an airbag where a rear-facing child car seat is in place can cause serious injury or even death to the child.
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Drivers may receive at least three penalty points if they are found with a child in a rear facing car seat in the front when there is an active airbag.
You can turn airbags off, though, to make the front seat safe for children in a rear facing car seat. The RSA recommends consulting your vehicle handbook.
