My children had forward-facing car seats and I’m sure many of you also had them for your children, however a new report says they are much more dangerous than rear-facing ones.

The report, from car sale website Motors.co.uk, says that in studies, rear-facing seats are up to five times safer and it calls on them to be more widely available for babies and toddlers aged from nine months to four years old. It also says that there is a lack of awareness of this issue as well as information and availability of rear-facing seats.

The study, of 1,000 parents, found that 70% of those questioned did not realise that rear-facing car seats were available for children of this age while over half said that they would buy such a seat if they were more widely available in the UK.

The government, through road safety minister Mike Penning, confirmed that it recognised that properly fitted rear seats offered better protection in a frontal impact crash when compared to a forward-facing seat. However, he said there were concerns over them being reportedly more difficult to use. So, there was a danger that they could be installed incorrectly and therefore be less effective in the event of an accident.

So, any parents out there with small children, what sort of car seat do they use and are you convinced that rear-facing seats are much safer?

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