How Old Can a Child Be to Sit in the Front Passenger Seat?
2 Answers
There are no strict regulations regarding how old a child must be to sit in the front passenger seat or the mandatory use of child safety seats. However, children under the age of 12 are not allowed to sit in the front passenger seat. For safety reasons, children should sit in the back seat, and younger children must use a child safety seat. There are clear regulations for front-seat passengers: 1. Parents holding children cannot sit in the front passenger seat, nor can child safety seats be installed there; 2. If the front passenger does not fasten their seatbelt while driving on highways or urban expressways, they may be fined via electronic monitoring or on-site enforcement and required to correct the behavior; 3. On roads outside highways and urban expressways with speed limits below 50 km/h, front passengers not wearing seatbelts will receive a verbal warning and education to correct the behavior, without penalty points or fines.
The front passenger seat poses significant risks for children. Having driven for many years, I've witnessed numerous accident cases and sincerely advise against letting young children sit there. Airbags deploy at extremely high speeds that adults can withstand, but a child's neck cannot, and it may even lead to suffocation. Regulations generally recommend that children under 12 years old or shorter than 1.4 meters should sit in the back seat, secured with an ISOFIX-anchored child safety seat. Younger children are best protected with rear-facing seats, while older ones should use booster seats to prevent the seatbelt from pressing against their necks. Always check the seat's installation regularly—never cut corners when safety is at stake. Statistics also show that front-seat accidents result in extremely high injury rates for children—don’t let one mistake lead to lifelong regret. Whenever I travel with kids, I emphasize this habit, as it can truly save lives.
