Frequently Asked Questions | Britax Römer

It is mandatory to use child car seats within the EU for all children up to the heights of 1.35m or 1.5m – depending on the member state.

There are currently two legal standards in Europe:

Although current child seat legislation allows the use of R44 or R129 car seats, we at Britax Römer recommend choosing a R129 car seat.

ECE R129/03

R129 for car seats, introduced in 2013 is the lastest regulation. Car seats which got tested under this new regulation have been subjected to more stringent tests and offer better protection for the head and neck than the R44 standard. Frontal collisions at 50km/h and rear collisions at 30 km/h and Side-impact crash are part of the assessment. ECE R129/03 approved seats can all be identified by their orange approval label.

ECE R44/04

ECE R44/04 is the previous regulation. Car seats developed under this regulation will be banned in the EU from September 1st, 2024, but their use will still be allowed for at least 8 years, so you will not need to replace your current seat and can continue to transport your child in it.

To meet ECE R44/04 approval car seats are tested in frontal collisions at 50km/h and rear collisions at 30 km/h using crash test dummies and advanced measuring instruments designed to assess the levels of protection each seat offers. ECE R44/04 approved seats can all be identified by their orange approval label.

What are the major differences between R44 and R129 car seats?

R129 is considered to be the safest standard protection compared to R44, as it offers an improved head and neck protection standard.

This improved safety can be traced back in particular to a new generation of test dummies (Q Dummies). They are more biofidelic and they are equipped with more sensors, which means they are basically a lot more realistic in kinetics/movements and they deliver more data. Therefore an even more precise developement of car seats is possible.

Side-impact crash test results are assessed as part of the standard, this wasn't done in R44.

Your child must sit rearward-facing from birth until at least 15 months.

You are selecting a seat by following the parameters: child height, weight (and age). However age is an indicational value, child height is a must and if a weight limitation is stated this parameter is as well mandatory.

This can increase safety, as most parents know the size of their child better than their weight. This makes it easier for you to ensure that your child is sitting in a seat of the right category.

WHAT DOES THE APPROVAL LABEL TELL ME ABOUT THE SEAT?

1. 1. There are 5 types of car seat approvals which are reflected with-in the actual Britax-Römer product range: - i-SIZE universal ISOFIX - universal belted - specific vehicle belted - specific vehicle booster seats - i-SIZE booster seats

   ‘Universal’ means your seat is approved for installation in all cars. Although you should check that the seat fits really well in your car. See below article on ‘Type Labelling’.

2. 2. Approval number. The first two numbers (04) show to which version the child seat has been approved, in this case ECE R 44/04.
3. 3. European approval indicator.
4. Indicates the country in which the approval was obtained: 1= Germany 2 = France 3 = Italy 4 = The Netherlands etc.
5. 4. Your seat meets the European Safety Standard. Car seats under the regulation R129 should end with 03 (latest version). For R44 products: note the last two digits. These should end in 04 (latest version) or 03. R44-01 or 02 are not legal and may not be sold or used since 2008.
6. 5. Name of product manufacturer
7. 6. BAR code
8. 7. Unique number allocated to your specific seat, for testing and tracking.

To determine if a child car seat fits your car, there are 5 types of car seat approvals which are actually reflected with-in the Britax Römer product range:

i-Size universal ISOFIX The seat is an i-Size conform seat, which means this car seat fits on every i-SIZE approved seating position according to the manual of your car. You need to use the ISOFIX connection system to make sure the seat is fixed to the anchorage points in your car. As well there is the need to have a support leg or top tether installation depending on the specific seat.

Example: BABY-SAFE PRO with VARIO BASE 5Z using ISOFIX and support leg

Universal belted Universal Belted (Integral Universal Belted Enhanced Child Restraint System) is a category of car seats developed to be attached by the 3-point vehicle belt (adult safety-belt) only in all universal seating positions of a vehicle, as defined and approved according to ECE No. 16.

Example: BABY-SAFE PRO belted installation or KING PRO belted installation

Specific vehicle belted The seat needs to be installed with the 3-point vehicle belt (adult safety-belt) of the car and fits to a certain type list of approved cars. This type list is available for those specific car seats, following the QR code which is printed on your product. This link refers to the user guide and type list on our website.

Example: manual/type list MAX-SAFE PRO

Specific vehicle booster seat This approval type contains all highback booster seats which are not i-SIZE conform, which means for those car seats a type list of approved cars is given and necessary to consider.

Example: ADVANSAFIX PRO

i-Size booster seat This approval type contains all highback booster seats which are i-SIZE conform, which means this car seat fits on every i-SIZE approved seating position according to the manual of your car. Both, installation with ISOFIX and 3-point vehicle belt or with the 3-point vehicle belt only is possible.

Example: KIDFIX i-SIZE

In general: A car seat can be approved under more than one approval type. This approval types can be found in the orange approval label on your seat and they are marked as well as with A and B on the routing label (installation comic descripition) on both sides of your car seat. This occurs for example when a car seats can be installed either with a base which connects via ISOFIX to the car or with the 3-point vehicle belt only (without the base). EXAMPLES: Approval type A could be "i-SIZE universal ISOFIX". Approval type B could be "universal belted". Another use case are rotating seats or combination seats which cover a longer usage time and with that they often combine an integral 5-point harness sytem for a period of use. The use of that integral harness is determined by certain passenger body heigth and weight limit. Afterwards a second intended use is possible by using an installation mode which is secured by the 3- point vehicle belt only. EXAMPLE: Approval type A could be "i-SIZE universal ISOFIX". Approval type B could be "specific vehicle booster seat".

Taking the above into account

An i-SIZE car seat is always a R129 approved seat but vice versa car seats under R129 can as well be non-i-SIZE seats. i-SIZE helps at least to ensure, that i-SIZE seating positions in a car provide a certain volume for car seats which makes it easier to find the right seat for your car. If you are not sure which car seat fits to your car - use our FIT FINDER®.