Child seats: the law and the reality - Introduction

Earlier this year, the Government introduced new laws to ensure children are safe in cars, in a bid to prevent 2000 child deaths and injuries each year.

However, although these laws have been in place since September 2006, a What Car? investigation has revealed that many parents are still woefully ill-informed about what these laws mean.

What are the rules?
The new legislation makes it mandatory for children under the age of 12 and less than 135cm tall (about 4ft 5in) to sit on a booster cushion.

The new rules also say that children aged up to three years old must use a child seat, while rear-facing baby seats must not be used in a seat protected by a front airbag unless the airbag has been deactivated.

Under the new laws, parents face a £30 fixed penalty if their children are not using the appropriate seating.

In the lead-up to the changes, the Government launched a radio, internet and press campaign to tell people about the new laws. However, our research suggests parents are still not getting the message.

In a whatcar.com survey, 60% of the 500 parents who responded could not correctly determine which children can travel without a booster cushion. Just under a quarter were not aware the law had changed. Clearly, the Government campaign has had little effect.