The European law recommends considering not much the age but in particular the baby’s weight.
Even the baby’s morphology is an important aspect to be considered because only an appropriate car seat, correctly chosen, ensures the maximum level of protection. For further information, please refer to our group chart in our section “How to choose” from our web site.

If the baby can seat unaided, if he exceeds the maximum weight limit, or his height is about to exceed the headrest one, in this case it would be right to move from a group 0+ to a group 1. When the baby weights more than the maximum weight limit or when the level of his eyes is higher than the highest car seat point, it would be good to move from a group 1 to a group 2-3.

On the market there are car seats called multi-group, they can be used to cover different weights and age ranges. They are tested for different groups and they can be adjusted following the baby’s growth. This is their advantage.

Specific car seats, totally dedicated to 1 group only, are perfect because they optimize their performances acting on age and baby’s weight. They are more suitable for the baby morphology. Moreover specific groups offer better comfort and convenience, like group 0+ multi-features or the reclining group 1 back rest.

First of all you should install your car seat following the fastening instructions on the manual, by fastening the car seat forward or rear facing, depending on its group. Before fitting it, it’s better to check on which seat the car seat can be fixed. In any case, never fix the car seat on a seat forbidden by law/manual.

There are no restrictions concerning universal car seats belonging to any group on any car that can receive a universal car seat. If you buy a semi-universal car seat, you should check the list in the instructions manual and see if it’s suitable for your car. If you buy a car seat with universal isofix system, you should just ensure your car has got universal Isofix attachments. Please always consult with the car instructions manual in order to check which positions and car seat models can be fitted.

A car seat equipped with Isofix system is safer because it is fitted directly to the body of the car without using the safety belts and minimizing the risk of fitting mistakes. For further information, please consult our “Isofix System” section from our web site.

Top Tether anchorage point changes depending on car: look through your car instructions manual to verify where it’s situated, if behind the seat backrest, in the car boot or on the roof. For further information, please consult our “Isofix system” section from our website.

The car seat must be fitted in a correct way on your vehicle and the child must be securely fitted in the car seat. Anyway the safest area is the central rear seat unit as this is the most protected one in case of front or side impact.

Basically the body structure of a child is less strong than the one of an adult and therefore more likely to be injured. A child travelling in a car without a car seat or in a car seat that is not complying with the safety regulations, or not suitable for his weight or fitted in an incorrect way, is risking serious injuries (very strong impacts against the dashboard, the windscreen or the front seats of the car), even in case of small accident or strong/sudden braking.

Each used car seat has its own history and you never know how it has been used till that time, if it has always been fitted correctly or if it was subject to a car accident. Most of the times the instruction manuals – that are extremely important for the correct use of the car seat – have been lost by the previous users, and accessories for the comfort of the baby have been lost as well or are no longer available (liners, paddings and head huggers). It could even happen, after some years since the purchase date, that the car seat is no more complying with the European law in force (ECE R44/04). For all these reasons, it’s highly recommended to buy a new car seat, complying with the European safety standards and always suitable for your baby and for your car.

It’s important and highly recommended to replace the car seat after an accident’s occurred, even if it’s of minor entity, because even if there aren’t visible external damages, the inner parts of the shell could be damaged and therefore no more safe.

During car accidents there are many forces to be considered, because the kinetic energy of all passengers depends on the body mass, which must be multiplied by the square of the speed. Just think that in case of impact at 40 km/h, a child weighting 16 kg becomes like a weight of 1.000 kg if the child is not correctly fitted in a car seat. And an impact at 50 km/h can be compared to a fall from the third floor of a building.

In Italy there are rules of the road (art. 172) that rules the way to travel by car with children. It indicates that passengers from 0 to 12 years old and with an height lower than 1,50 m, are fastened to a homologated restrained system that complies with weight/height of the child. And with the European law (ECE R44/04) that declares 5 groups of restrained systems appropriate: group 0, group 0+, group 1, group 2 and group 3.

If the driver does not use restrained systems required by the law, he will risk to be fined from 70 to 285 € and he will lose 5 points from his license driver. If one of the child’s parents is passenger in the car – without driving – the law won’t ratify the driver but the parent.