The Act of 9 April 2015 amending the Road Traffic Act (Journal of Laws, item 591) implements EU regulations concerning the rules for transporting children in motor vehicles.
Compared with the previous regulations, the child’s age criterion has been removed, leaving only the height criterion, namely below 150 cm. Therefore, a child who has reached the age of 12 but has not attained the required height should also be transported in a safety seat or a child restraint system.
Several exceptions to the general rules for transporting children have also been introduced. Among other things, children between 135 and 150 cm tall may be restrained with the vehicle’s seat belts, and therefore without a safety seat or child restraint system, when being transported in the rear seat if, due to the child’s weight and height, it is not possible to provide an appropriate device. In practice, this applies to transporting a child within the above height range whose body weight exceeds 36 kg, the maximum weight for a child restraint system specified in the regulations. This exception does not apply when transporting a child in the front seat of a vehicle, where a safety seat or child restraint system must be used in every case.
Another exception to the general rules for transporting children in passenger cars and small trucks permits a third child aged at least 3 to be transported in the rear seat, restrained with the vehicle’s seat belts, when two children are being transported in restraint systems installed on the rear seat and there is no possibility of installing a third device. In practice, this provision applies to a typical passenger car intended for a maximum of five people, including the driver. In passenger cars with 6–9 seats and two rows of rear seats, the sufficiently large dimensions, including the seat width, mean that installing a restraint system for each child being transported no longer creates any problems.
The new regulations prohibit transporting a child under 3 years of age in a vehicle not equipped with seat belts and a safety seat or with seat belts and another restraint system. The existing ban on transporting a child facing rearward in the front seat of a vehicle remains in force, with the difference that the provision has been adapted to technological advances. The mere fact that the vehicle is equipped with a passenger airbag, which previously ruled out the possibility of transporting a child in this manner, is no longer decisive; what matters is whether the airbag is active. Moreover, unlike the previous wording, the provision permits a child to be transported in the front seat of a vehicle using either a safety seat or another restraint system.
The existing exemptions concerning the transportation of children in vehicles such as taxis, specialized sanitary transport vehicles, and vehicles operated by the police, the Border Guard or the municipal (city) guard have been retained.
The exemption concerning the transportation of a child by bus has, however, been abolished. Consequently, transporting a child in this type of vehicle is subject only to the general exemption (the absence of seat belts on a bus) and the specific exemptions regulated in Article 39(2), points 10–11, of the Road Traffic Act.
Another significant change is the introduction, alongside the obligation to transport children in safety seats or other restraint systems, of an obligation to adapt the device to the child’s weight and height, ensure that it complies with the applicable technical requirements, and install it correctly in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Failure to fulfill any of the above obligations is punishable by a fine.
BPiRD KGP/mb/ii