Car seats for children: too many parents do not respect the law

A small mannequin is installed in a seat, without any particular protection except a belt. Along a crash test ramp, the wheelchair is launched at 30 km/h before being stopped abruptly. The speed doesn't seem spectacular, but it's enough to twist the rag doll. “Even at 30 km/h, an impact can eject the child from their seat,” warns Étienne Engrand, general manager in France of Cybex, a German company specializing in childcare equipment, including car seats. With this demonstration in the aisles of the Mondial de l'Auto, the brand hopes to raise motorists' awareness of child road safety.

In a study commissioned from Ipsos* and unveiled this Tuesday, October 13, Cybex highlights the recklessness of a large number of parents. While car seats are compulsory until the age of 10 in France, more than one in four children do not systematically use this equipment. For infants, the outlaws seem even more numerous: more than half of parents seat their child facing the road before the legal age of 15 months. “Even beyond 15 months, this position (backward facing, Editor’s note) should be favored for as long as possible, in a suitable seat,” we can read on the official Road Safety website. Another widespread bad practice: early abandonment of the back seat. From 121 centimeters (around 6 or 7 years old), more than half of children travel in a backless booster seat. “Without a backrest, the head is not protected in the event of a side impact. But this is a significant part of accidents,” warns Étienne Engrand.

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Don't have too much confidence on short journeys

“The finding calls for global awareness,” write the authors of the study, describing “risky habits.” How can we explain these behaviors? “There is an element of ignorance (on regulations, Editor’s note),” analyzes Christophe Chirol, research director at Ipsos. Other parents talk about the annoyance of children who cry or stamp their feet when placed in a car seat. Some parents do without it more specifically for short trips or routine trips. However, these are “routes on which the majority of accidents occur”, recalls the study.

*Methodology: the study was carried out by Ipsos for Cybex in August 2026 with a representative sample of 1,000 parents of children aged 0 to 10 who own at least one car in the home (quota method: sex, age of parent, region and CSP).