Unrestrained Child In Back Seat

Question:

I have been given a fixed penalty and 3 points on my licence because I was driving my car with my child (10 months old) in the back seat with my wife and she had taken him out of the child seat because he was screaming and she wanted to feed him. I explained to the officer but he said that my wife was not wearing a seat belt either so he gave me a penalty.

I would like to know if I am in a good position to challenge this decision because:

1. My wife is an adult and I am not responsible for her to wear a seat belt in the back seat.

2. If she wanted to feed the baby she couldn’t do so while having her seat belt on.

I hope to get a genuine advice on this.

Emma Says:

If as a matter of fact they were not restrained then you will find it difficult to defend the matter. Your only hope would be to ask the court to consider finding special reasons based on the circumstances. The court however may take the view that you should have pulled over before taking your child out of the child seat.

Having said that you didn’t! So the court may feel sympathetic that you did not have a huge amount of control over the situation.

If you want to take the matter to court then come back to me if you would like my help. Bear in mind that if you lose at court you face higher fines and court costs.