Conflicting advice on airbag use with kids' booster seats?

[bungle]

I'm confused... if I use a kids' booster seat in the front of my car, my thinking is that the kid is forward-facing just like an adult would be, so the protection from the airbag is a good thing.

And the govt website seems to agree: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Yourchildsheal... It only talks about deactivating for a rear-facing seat, and for forward-facing it says to position the seat as far back as possible (fair enough).

But lots of retailers (example: http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3... ) seem to say to deactivate the airbag if using a booster seat.

Who is right?

[martin84]

A bit of both to be honest. It is law that a rear facing child seat cannot be used in the front seat unless the airbag (if there is one) is deactivated. There is not a specific law stating you cant use a forward facing child seat with the airbag active but it is recommended that you check with the vehicle manufacturer (specifically enquiring how far out the airbag deploys) before deciding whether or not to have it active. There can be cases when even with a forward facing child seat, an airbag can cause more harm than good in an accident, so Argos are probably just playing it very safe there by recommending deactivation but there is no law which says it has to be deactivated in that case.

[Ozzie Osmond]

It is generally recommended that if you have any small child in the front of a car the seat should be slid back as far as possible on its rails to minimise the risk of airbag injury.

[boobles]

Ozzie Osmond said:

It is generally recommended that if you have any small child in the front of a car the seat should be slid back as far as possible on its rails to minimise the risk of airbag injury.

what he said....

The airbag is designed specifically to help prevent injuries to adults, not children.
They should either be switched off or the passenger seat moved as far back as possible to avoid contact with the airbag should it deploy.