Car Seats & Travel / 2 April, 2025 / Ellie Thompson

UK Car Seat Safety Crisis: Why Parents Urgently Need Clearer Guidance

There is a UK car seat safety crisis, as outdated regulations and widespread misconceptions leave thousands of children at greater risk in the event of a crash. Without urgent action, the UK will continue to fall behind, putting more children at unnecessary risk.

When Hazel Shepherd strapped her three-year-old son, Ralph, into his rear-facing car seat one February day, she didn’t realise just how vital that decision would soon be.

Moments later, a heavy goods vehicle crashed into the back of their car, leaving Hazel and her partner with severe whiplash injuries, which Hazel is still receiving treatment for. Yet Ralph, travelling safely secured in his rear-facing seat, escaped entirely unharmed.

“It might sound odd, but when the crash happened, I didn’t panic too much about Ralph because I knew he was as safe as he could be in his seat,” recalls Hazel, from Chelmsford, Essex.

Ralph’s protection wasn’t down to luck – it was thanks to Hazel’s informed decision to choose a rear-facing seat. Before selecting his Axkid ONE 2 seat, she really did her homework. She joined Facebook groups exploring child seat safety and did lots of online research. Tragically, however, Hazel’s knowledge is far from universal in the UK.

New research by Swedish child car seat specialist, Axkid, this week, has revealed that only 22% of UK children aged two to four-years-old remain rear-facing when travelling. This contrasts dramatically with Sweden, where a remarkable 83% of children in this age group travel rear-facing.

UK Car Seat Safety Crisis: Dangerous Misconceptions and a Cultural Issue

Both the UK and Sweden follow identical UN regulations, legally allowing forward-facing travel from 15 months (or as young as nine-months-old for some older weight-based R44 car seats). Yet while Sweden emphasises rear-facing travel until a minimum of four years, and has worked hard over many decades to educate parents about what’s safest, the UK continues to focus solely on what’s legally allowed.

This creates a dangerous misunderstanding that what is legally permissible is also safe. When parents walk into a shop and see shelves dominated by forward-facing car seats with no guidance on rear-facing options, how are they supposed to know differently?

In the UK, parents who choose extended rear-facing seats are often viewed as overly cautious or excessively protective. By contrast, in Sweden, the opposite is true: parents who switch their children to forward-facing prematurely are seen as taking unnecessary risks. These cultural perceptions play a significant role in influencing parental decisions and behaviours around child car seat safety.

Jayne Caul, Managing Director of Axkid UK, agrees this cultural difference is stark – and problematic. “Most British parents simply aren’t receiving the guidance they need to make informed, life-saving choices,” she says. “Sweden has created a culture where rear-facing travel is the expected norm until at least four-years-old. Here in the UK, parents choosing safety over convenience often feel judged or isolated. This urgently needs to change.”

This failure to communicate safety clearly and consistently means thousands of UK parents unknowingly expose their children to greater risk. Indeed, the Axkid research found that an alarming 44% of parents weren’t even aware of the minimum legal age for forward-facing travel.

Sweden’s Life-Saving Approach

Sweden took decisive action on this issue decades ago. Since the 1960s, targeted public education campaigns and clear, consistent safety messaging have embedded rear-facing travel as the norm. Most Swedish parents wouldn’t dream of turning their child forward-facing too soon.

“Everybody who works at Axkid in Sweden grew up travelling rear-facing until at least four – our CEO, our Vice President – everybody,” Jayne continues. “Now, decades later, they cannot understand why UK parents haven’t been provided with the same essential information. It’s time for the UK to catch up.”

Call to Action

In response, Axkid is launching a campaign urging UK authorities to urgently update official guidance, strongly advocating for rear-facing seats until at least four years old. They are also pushing for clearer, nationwide awareness campaigns so parents can easily access evidence-based safety advice.

Jayne emphasises the importance of this shift: “Sweden has made rear-facing travel the unquestioned norm. There’s no reason why the UK can’t do the same. Our research shows parents desperately want clearer recommendations on car seat safety. We are failing them by not providing the clarity and support they deserve.”

Hazel Shepherd fully agrees. Having seen firsthand how life-saving a rear-facing car seat can be, she urges UK parents to reconsider forward-facing seats for young children.

“I’m incredibly thankful we chose a rear-facing seat for Ralph – it protected him completely in the crash. Every parent deserves the chance to make that informed, life-saving decision, but right now, most simply don’t understand how crucial rear-facing travel is. This urgently needs to change,” she says.

It’s clear that the UK urgently needs a cultural shift, supported by clear guidance, strong regulation, and dedicated awareness campaigns. Until then, UK children remain at unnecessary risk—and parents continue to be let down. It’s time for change.

Read the full report here: Axkid Child Safety Report 2025.

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