Child seats: the law and the reality - The message isn't getting through

Each police force is responsible for training officers about the new laws, but there is no data on how many people have been fined for carrying their children without the correct seating.

A spokeswoman for the Association of Chief Police Officers said: 'The police, partner agencies and retailers have been heavily involved in the publicity surrounding the new laws. The police have been engaging with the public in an attempt to educate and advise. It is too early to tell if more publicity is required.'

However, other surveys show that parents are still not getting the message about the new laws and how to keep their children safe when they are in cars.

In a poll of 3027 parents with children aged under 12, conducted by Toys R Us, around a fifth admitted that they still did not have their children in an appropriate booster seat. Four out of five of those said they would wait a couple of weeks before even considering buying a car seat.

The survey also found that a third of children were angered or embarrassed by their booster cushion or refused to use it. Boys proved to be more defiant - 63% of parents who bought new seats said their boys created a fuss when they were put on the booster seat.

More than a fifth of parents said they had to set aside extra time on a journey to allow for their children being difficult when getting into their booster seats.

The Government's £600,000 publicity campaign on the new child seat laws ran from July to September. A spokesman for the Department for Transport said the Government didn't run a television campaign because it didn't think it would focus on the target audience.

'The campaign generated a lot of media attention - there were stories on radio stations throughout the country and on BBC News 24,' the spokesman said. 'We think the message is getting through and we have no plans for another publicity campaign.'

However, further research shows that parents appear to be aware of the new law, but they are still in the dark about specifics.

In a poll of 500 drivers by online insurance broker Motorinsurance.co.uk, 69% of respondents did not know a child has to be a minimum of 135cm tall to use a standard adult seatbelt.