Child Restraining Devices

Statutory Requirements

Following the passage of the Road Traffic (Safety Equipment) (Amendment) Regulation 2024 by the Legislative Council, starting from November 1, 2025, unless child passengers aged below eight reach a body height of 1.35 metres, they must use child restraint devices (CRDs) in private cars irrespective of sitting in the front or rear seats. Passengers aged eight or above, or with a body height of at least 1.35 metres must either use a CRD or wear an adult seat belt. Otherwise, the driver must not drive the car on any road.

Choosing and Using CRDs

• When choosing CRDs, you should first select it based on the height and/or weight range for which the product is suitable, and use age as a reference only.
• Should choose CRD's complying with the amendment regulation as set out below:
  1. British Standard for Seat Belt Assemblies for motor vehicles BS 3254: 1960 or BS 3254 (including Part 2: 1991 Specification for restraining devices for children);
  2. British Standard Specification for Passive Seat Belt Systems BS AU 157a, BS AU 185, BS AU 186, BS AU 186a, BS AU 202 or BS AU 202a;
  3. ECE Regulation No. 16 made by the Economic Commission for Europe dated 7 May 1973 (including all revisions made before 1 August 1998); ECE Regulation No. 44 made by the Economic Commission for Europe dated 1 February 1981 (including all revisions for child restraining devices made before 1 August 1998); or UN Regulation No. 129 made by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe dated 7 August 2013 (including all revisions for child restraining devices made before 1 November 2025);
  4. Australian Standards for Seat Belt Assemblies for motor vehicles AS 1754-1995;
  5. New Zealand Specification for Seat Belt Assemblies for motor vehicles NZS 5411;
  6. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (USA) No. 213;
  7. Japanese Industrial Standard JIS D0401: 1990 or JIS D0401: 1996;
  8. Directive 77/541/EEC issued by the European Economic Community dated 28 June 1977 (including all revisions of that Directive made before 30 June 2005);
  9. Australian/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 1754: 2010 or AS/NZS 1754: 2013;
  10. National Standard of the People's Republic of China GB 27887-2011 for restraining devices for child occupants of power-driven vehicles.
• CRDs will bear permanent markings, indicating compliance with the standards specified in the legislation. Example of the permanent markings are set out below:
  
• To make it easier to travel with babies, some safety seats suitable for newborn babies can be used with designated baby stroller models.
• When choosing ISOFIX safety seat models, can check the list of applicable car models from the retailer or supplier of the safety seat to ensure that the safety seat can be securely installed on the car seat.
• Before using the safety seat for the first time, it is advisable to clean the seat cover, seat belt and cushion of the safety seat.
• When purchasing CRDs, should fully understand how to install and use it.
• After a collision, the CRDs may show no signs of damage on the surface, but the mechanical structure may have been damaged, resulting in loss of protective effectiveness, so it should not be used again. When purchasing second-hand CRDs, it is difficult to guarantee that the product has not been hit. As for those used by relatives or friends, you should also ask clearly whether they have been dropped or bumped.

Portable CRD

In order to protect the child's upper body including the head from side impact, child safety seats are generally provided with protective pads on both sides and a seat back. Some CRDs are designed to be portable, such as seat belt adjuster, wearable safety restraint vest, and booster (see the example below).

Seat Belt Adjuster	Wearable Safety Restraint Vest	Booster

Portable CRDs must comply with the specifications or standards of the Road Traffic (Safety Equipment) Regulations. The principle of the seat belt adjustor is to pull down and secure the car's seat belt, so that the car's seat belt is fastened in the appropriate position on the child and will not strangle the neck, thereby enhancing the protective effect of the seat belt on the child in the event of a collision.

However, since portable CRDs do not have protective pads and seat backs on both sides, generally speaking, the protection capabilities of such devices in side impacts are not as good as those of child safety seats, but they are still better than not using any child safety device. These devices are designed to be lightweight and portable, if children will occasionally travel by private cars, drivers or parents can consider these lightweight and portable products as alternatives.

Further Reference Materials

Consumer Council had published the test results for child safety seats samples in 2022 and 2023, public can make reference via the links below:

Year 2022 Choice Magazine Issue 544 (Chinese Only) :
https://www.consumer.org.hk/tc/article/544-child-car-seats/544-child-car-seats-child-safety-in-cars

Year 2023 Choice Magazine Issue 562 (Chinese Only) :
https://www.consumer.org.hk/tc/article/562-child-car-seats/562-child-car-seats-child-safety-in-cars

Current Legislation on the Use of CRD on other Classes of Vehicle

According to current legislation, if the front seat passenger of private light bus and goods vehicle is a child aged 2 or less, CRD must be used.