As reported by the Road Traffic Bureau of the Police Headquarters, the Act of 9 April 2015 amending the Road Traffic Act (Journal of Laws, item 591) implemented EU regulations concerning the rules for transporting children in motor vehicles.
Compared with the previous regulations, the child’s age criterion was removed, leaving only the height criterion, namely below 150 cm. Thus, a child who has turned 12 but has not reached the required height should also be transported in a safety seat or child restraint system.
Are there exceptions to this rule?
Several exceptions to the general rules for transporting children have also been introduced. Among other things, children between 135 and 150 cm tall may, when transported in the rear seat, be restrained using the vehicle’s safety belts, without a safety seat or restraint system, if it is not possible to provide them with a suitable device due to the child’s weight and height.
In practice, this concerns transporting a child within the above height range whose body weight exceeds 36 kg, that is, the maximum weight for a child restraint system provided for in the regulations.
The above exception does not apply to transporting a child in the front seat of a vehicle, which must in every case take place using a safety seat or restraint system.
Another exception to the general rules for transporting children in passenger cars and small goods vehicles permits a third child aged at least 3 years to be transported in the rear seat, restrained using the vehicle’s safety belts, when two children are being transported in restraint systems installed in the rear seat and there is no possibility of installing a third system. In practice, this provision applies to transport in a typical passenger car, intended for a maximum of 5 people including the driver. In passenger cars with 6–9 seats and two rows of rear seats, installing a restraint system for each transported child no longer poses any problems due to the sufficiently large dimensions, including the width of the seats.
The regulations prohibit transporting a child under 3 years of age in a vehicle not equipped with safety belts and a safety seat or safety belts and another restraint system. The ban on transporting a child rear-facing in the front seat of a vehicle remains in force, with the difference that the provision has been adapted to technological progress. The mere presence of a passenger airbag in the vehicle is no longer decisive—as was previously the case, when it ruled out the possibility of transporting a child in this way—but rather whether the airbag is active.
Moreover, unlike the previous wording, this provision permits transporting a child in the front seat of a vehicle using both a safety seat and another restraint system.
The existing exceptions concerning transporting children in vehicles such as taxis, specialist medical transport vehicles, and vehicles of the police, Border Guard or municipal (city) guard have been retained.
The exception concerning transporting a child by bus has, however, been abolished. Consequently, transporting a child in this type of vehicle is subject only to the general exception (the absence of safety belts on the bus) and the specific exceptions 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 relevant technical requirements, and install it correctly in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Failure to meet any of the above obligations is punishable by a fine.