Since 2007, a law has been in force in the Russian Federation that obliges car drivers to use special restraints when transporting children whose age does not exceed 12 years, which are called child car seats in everyday life.
Transporting a child without a car seat is punishable by an administrative fine. Initially, the fine was the same as for a seat belt that was not fastened, but since 2013 it has been 3,000 rubles, which is quite comparable to the price of the seat itself. This should save drivers from the temptation to “get off with a fine”.
The driver must pay the fine. It is clear that a fine cannot be imposed on the child himself, because he is not 16 years old. But if the driver is not the child's parent, for example, the parents are traveling with the baby in a taxi, then the responsibility lies not with the parents, but with him. The taxi driver may try to negotiate with passengers who agreed to take the child without a car seat, ask them to reimburse him the amount of the fine, but you cannot force them to do this.
Types of car seats
Child seats are assigned to specific groups according to the child's age and weight.
Group 0+ - armchairs for newborns and infants, i.e. up to a year, whose weight does not reach 13 kg. They differ from all other chairs in that they are installed against the direction of travel.
Chairs of group 0 + / I can be installed facing forward and backward. The first provision applies to children from six months to one and a half years, the second - for older children. This group includes children weighing up to 18 kg at the age from six months to 4 years.
Chairs of other groups are installed exclusively facing forward. Group I - 9-18 kg, 9 months - 4 years, I / II / III –9 months - 12 years, 9-36 kg, II / III - 3-12 years, 15-36 kg.
If the child's weight exceeds 36 kg, and his height is more than 1.5 meters, but his age has not reached 12 years, he is supposed to be fastened with a regular seat belt equipped with a special adapter that does not allow the belt to slide off the child's neck. People call such an adapter "indulgence", because if it is available, traffic police officers often "close their eyes" to the absence of a seat when transporting children of any age category.
Requirements for car seats
Even with a car seat, the driver can be fined if he does not comply with some of the rules regarding its use.
The seat should be installed in the safest part of the rear seat - in the middle or behind the driver's back.
The chair must be in good working order. External or internal damage to the frame, cracks and dents on the seat, abrasion of belts are unacceptable.
If there is a seat in the car, and the child is not in it, but on the seat or in the arms of an adult, we can assume that there is no seat. Punished with a fine and inconsistency of the car seat to the age of the child.
Laws regarding child car seats also exist in other countries. In France, for a trip with a child without a car seat, the driver can be fined € 90, in Germany - € 40, in Italy - € 71. The American law is especially harsh: in the USA, the fine for such a violation reaches $ 500.
