UK car seat laws for babies: When should your child move out of a rear-facing seat?

AS a parent you'll want to make sure your child is as safe as possible at all times, which includes when they're in a car.

Everyone knows babies travel in rear-facing car seats, but when is the right time to move them out of them?

This is one of the most hotly-debated questions among parents because there is no easy answer.

Legally, your child must be in a rear-facing car seat until he or she is 15 months old.

It's actually safest for everybody to travel this way in a car.

That's because the most common and dangerous type of accident is the frontal collision.

They usually happen when vehicles are going fast and the problem is that people keep going forward even after the crash.

It's their seat belts which stop this and protect them for bashing into part of their car.

Although good, the force of the movement puts a huge amount of strain on the parts of the body being held in place by the belt.

The head, arms and legs feel this force too, as they are pushed forward.

The neck gets the brunt though - equivalent to between 300kg and 320kg in a front-facing seat, or a reduced 50kg in a rear-facing one.

Babies are obviously still growing and their bodies are more fragile than adults'.

This means their necks, spines and internal organs are much more likely to be seriously injured by an accident if they aren't in the right seat.

Rear-facing car seats offer several types of protection to babies and young children if there is a crash:

• They cut the risk of neck and spine injuries by making sure the child's head doesn't move too much
• They stop the head banging on parts of the car (like the windows)
• They protect the child from any dangerous debris like glass
• The spread the pressure from the restraint over the strong parts of the body, which is the back for kids

So far so simple, but the reason all of this is so hotly-debated online is because many other countries require kids to stay in rear-facing car seats for a lot longer than the UK.

Some areas leave their children in them until they are four, while in America isn't recommended you don't make a change until they are at least two.

Four years ago motors.co.uk launched a campaign to encourage retailers to make it easier for parents to find rear-facing seats for older kids.

At the time, it was claimed they are "up to five times safer" for children. A year earlier, another study suggested kids under two were 75% less likely to be hurt or killed if they were in a rear-facing seat during a car crash.

In Sweden, it's normal for kids under four and sometimes up to five to travel in rear-facing seats.

Interestingly, child fatalities are rare in Scandinavia.

They are low in the UK too, but the figure does rise after the age of one.

One option is to get an extended rear-facing seat. This usually last until the child is around four.

If you do go for this, it's best to get it fitted in store by someone who knows what they are doing.

Usual child car seats can be fitted at home.