Israel Police

Seatbelts and Safety Seats

Seatbelts are one of the most effective means of minimizing injuries to passengers in a vehicle during an accident. Seatbelts are designed to prevent hard parts inside the vehicle from colliding with passengers.

Not only do airbags not eliminate the need for seatbelts, they make them more necessary. During an accident, even a not-very-serious one, the airbags open very quickly, and being hit by them is liable to cause injury, and, in rare cases, even death. The combination of seatbelts and airbags, however, has been proven to be extremely effective, and has saved many lives.

The law requires that seat belts be worn, even in the rear seats, in every car manufactured from 1987 onward. Small children must be restrained in the rear seats in vehicles manufactured from 1983 onward. It is important to wear seatbelts in the rear seats, if available, even in vehicles manufactured before these dates.

When a vehicle is in an accident, or if the driver brakes sharply, a passenger in the rear seat not wearing a seatbelt is liable to be hit by objects inside the vehicle, or could be thrown outside the vehicle. A passenger in a rear seat is also endangered by the fact that he is less aware of the driver’s response than a passenger sitting next to the driver.

A pregnant woman is exposed to harm during an accident, or if the driver brakes sharply, just like any other passenger in the vehicle. The pregnant woman also carries her own small “passenger”, who is liable to suffer harm. A seatbelt protects the woman, and also the unborn child. The horizontal safety belt should be positioned below the pregnant woman’s abdomen, for greater safety.

Note: Gynecologists and GPs recommend avoiding driving a vehicle during the eighth and ninth month of pregnancy as much as possible possible, due to the unborn child’s close proximity to the steering wheel. In case of doubt, consult your physician.

Seatbelts and safety seats for children

Infants (from birth until nine months old, or at most one year)
Toddlers and young children (from nine months to about four years old)
Small children (from about four years old)
Older children

It is usually preferable for children to sit in the rear seats of private cars, protected by a seatbelt or safety seat, depending upon their size. If a child is being driven in a commercial vehicle with no back seats in the driver’s compartment, however, or a baby is being taken on a trip in which the driver is the only adult in the car, the child can be carried in the front seat, either in a safety seat, or with a seatbelt, depending on his size. It is nevertheless preferable to put children in rear seats.

Warning: in a vehicle that has an inflatable airbag for the front passenger, a child should not be put in the front seat next to the driver. If the airbag is activated during an accident, it will endanger the child.

Safety seats for infants (from birth until nine months old, or at most one year)

An infant should be placed in a semi-reclining position. The safety seat should be installed facing in the opposite direction from which the car travels, so that the infant’s entire body is supported in the seat, and his head does not move forward when the car is braked, and no damage is caused to its spine. The infant is strapped into the safety seat with a special belt, and the seat is anchored to the body of the car with a regular seatbelt. An infant should not be carried in the front seat that has an airbag in front of it. If the airbag inflates, it is very dangerous to an infant with his back to the direction in which the car is being driven. In these conditions, the infant should be placed in a rear seat.

Safety seats for toddlers and young children (from nine months to about four years old)

A child should be placed in a normal sitting position, facing the vehicle’s direction of travel. These seats too have safety belts (or harnesses) next to the child's body, which are buckled in place. It is important for the child's seatbelt to be tight, without putting pressure on him. The seat is anchored to the vehicle with the car’s regular seatbelt. A child can travel in either the front or the rear seat, although a rear seat is preferable.

Safety seats for small children (from about four years old)

The child sits in a booster seat, which is anchored to the body of the car, together with the child, with a regular seatbelt. Care should be taken that the height of the seat enables the seatbelt to stretch from the child’s shoulder to the area of the hips – in some booster seats the height can be adjusted). The seatbelt must not be in front of the child’s head, or neck.

Safety seats for older children

An older child can be buckled in with a regular seatbelt, provided that it stretches from the shoulder to the hips (not opposite the face, neck, or below the armpit). Some seatbelts can be adjusted by changing the upper point at which they are anchored to the vehicle. In this way, the child can be seated in either the front or a rear seat, and can be easily protected by the seatbelt installed in the vehicle.