Petition · past parliament · Department for Transport
Make it a legal requirement for children under the age of 4 to be rearfacing.
Rejected
11 signatures
What the petition asks
UK legislation only requires a rear-facing car seat for children that weigh up to 9kg – approx. 9-10 months old. However, evidence has shown that a rear-facing seat can be five times safer and that all children weighing 18kg – approx. 4 years should remain rear facing to increase car safety.
The UK lags way behind.
The EU has called for rear-facing seats to the age of 3 years but no action has been taken. This situation is compounded because the UK retail market does not supply a wide range of affordable rear-facing seats for babies and small children.
The Government should strengthen existing legislation to require the use of rear-facing car seats for all children aged 0-4 and encourage the UK retailers to offer a wider range of affordable rear-facing seats
The EU has called for rear-facing seats to the age of 3 years but no action has been taken. This situation is compounded because the UK retail market does not supply a wide range of affordable rear-facing seats for babies and small children.
The Government should strengthen existing legislation to require the use of rear-facing car seats for all children aged 0-4 and encourage the UK retailers to offer a wider range of affordable rear-facing seats
Why it was rejected
There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.
Timeline
| 20 Feb 2021 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 31 Mar 2021 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
11
Status
Rejected
Department
Department for Transport
Rejected
31 Mar 2021
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.