Car seat requirements
 

Is car seat mandatory for 1 year old infant in Germany, Poland, Greece, Hungary, Czech, Austria & Slovakia?
Can we rent a car seat there or need to carry our own?

If we tell you no, it's not required, does that mean you'll forgo using one for your 1yr old?

This sounds like a candidate for the annual Fodor's Darwin awards.

Yes, throughout EU (all your destination countries are in EU). What type of seat you need depends on the child's age and weight. Look at the following UK site for details:
http://www.childcarseats.org.uk/types/index.htm
You can rent a suitable seat, but you should reserve one in advance.

Ouch. Why so harsh robbie - I'm sure it's a well intended question.

At least in some of those countries I know a car seat is required so I suggest you bring your own.

We always found it was best just to bring our own. We double bagged it in trash bags, wrapped it in duct tape and sent it as checked baggage.

Since you are renting a car be sure to check that you're allowed to take it into some of the countries you are going to. Some companies, for example, don't allow some models to go to the Czech republic. Not sure if that's still the case.

Traveling with an infant without a car seat is madness - never mind negligence. And yes, countries in the EU are very strict about this. If stopped it;s not a matter of a ticket/fine - they won't let you continue until you get a proper seat.

I don't know about in europe- but in the US you can;t leave a hospital with an infant if they don;t know you have a proper car seat - they just keep the baby until you get one.

We rented a child seat for our 2 year old grandson in UK & France earlier this year.

In both instances we requested this with our initial booking for the car; booked through Avis.

In UK there was a display stand showing the various options for different weights of children; in France we were just given the seat with the car. Both were the same type, and fitted perfectly into the vehicle.

I wouldn't be sure about taking along your own child seat - apart from the hassle of one extra piece of luggage, can you be sure that the fittings will marry exactly with those in the country you are travelling to? Di

Your own car seat will only be legal if it meets EU standards. These are not the same as US standards for instance. They must have a label which states they meet ECE 44.03 or better 44.04. It may just say E.03 or E.04.

It is possible to hire a seat with the car, which will meet all requirements.

The only exception to the child seat rule is in the back of a taxi.

Thank you everyone. This is very helpful.