We can address child safety and booster seats in terms of law or, more wisely, in terms of one or another more general and more conservative (i.e. child-conserving) consensus about child safety. Nevertheless please note that IdeaMerge is neither obligated nor qualified to present to clients nor to the general public the full set of relative laws nor the letter of those individual laws; the comments below, whether about law or consensus are merely intended to indicate the nature of the general issue of child motor vehicle safety. In many cases (such as Canada and the United States) the law applies based on the state, province or territory in which the vehicle is registered or in which a particular rental commences. In Canada such law is strictest in Quebec and in Ontario. Which is to say, these are the only provincial units in Canada that require booster seats. The general North American consensus considers booster seats necessary for children weighing 18–36 kg (40–80 lbs), forward-facing safety seats necessary for children weighing 9–18 kg (20–40 lbs), and rear-facing infant seats necessary for children weighing up to 9 kg (20 lbs). Age-wise these ranges correspond to 4.5 years through 7 years, 1 year up to 4.5 years, and 0 years up to 1 year. In Germany, however, the high-end figure is more conservative, in the sense noted above. German law puts this figure at up to 12 years or up to 1.5 m tall; French law puts it at up to 10 years. In Ontario a child need not use a safety seat if (a) his/her weight is over 36 kg (40 lbs) or (b) his/her age is over 8 years (i.e. he/she has turned 8 years old) or (c) his/her height is over 1.45 m (4 ft. 9 in.).… Generally a rear-facing safety seat should not be used in a seat equipped with a functional frontal airbag. Also generally speaking, children under 12 years old should sit in a rear seat.… In the context of the whole IdeaMerge Website it is appropriate to address a few more specific cases. The state of Washington in the USA is relatively strict: children up to 1 year old or less than 20 lbs must be seated in a rear-facing infant seat; children from 1 year old through 3 years old or 20–40 lbs must be seated in a forward-facing child seat; and children from 4 years old through 5 years old or 40–60 lbs must be seated in a booster seat (in the rear if the front passenger seat is equipped with an airbag). In the state of Oregon children from 0 through 3 years old or less than 40 lbs must be seated in a child seat, and children 4 years old through 5 years old or 40–60 lbs must be seated in a booster seat. In the state of California, children from 0 through 5 years old or less than 60 lbs must be seated in an appropriate child seat, perhaps a booster seat. In the state of Nevada children from 0 through 3 years old or weighing less than 40 lbs must be seated in a child seat. In the state of Colorado, children from 0 up to 1 year old or weighing less than 20 lbs must be seated in a rear-facing child seat; children from 1 year through 3 years old or 20–40 lbs must be seated in a front-facing child seat; and children from 4 through 5 years or less than 55 in. tall must be seated in a booster seat. In the state of New Jersey, a child 0 through 17 months old must be seated in a child seat; a child 18 months through 4 years old must be seated in a child seat if riding in front; and a child less than 8 years old or less than 80 lbs should sit in the rear, if rear seating is available.… In Australia a child from 0 up to 1 year old must be seated in a child seat, and this seat must be fitted with a top tether that is in turn attached to a suitable mounting point on the vehicle; other constraints apply per territory. Altogether it is virtually fair to say that child seats not manufactured for the Australia market will not conform to Australian law, and therefore clients from abroad should not plan to bring a child seat to Australia but should instead rent such from the vendor. In New Zealand a child from 0 through 4 years old must be seated in an appropriate safety seat; a child from 5 through 7 years old must if seated in front be seated in a booster seat or, we are told, secured with an adult safety belt (although this latter option seems too lax). Our vendors tell us it is fair to say that child seats not manufactured for the New Zealand market will not conform to New Zealand law, and therefore clients from abroad should not plan to bring a child seat to New Zealand but should instead rent such from the vendor. See www.atsb.gov.au/pdfs/child_restraints.pdf and www.transport.qld.gov.au/qt/LTASinfo.nsf/index/rs_restraints_home or www.ltsa.govt.nz/factsheets/07.html.