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Under 12s in your car must have safety seats
By David Derbyshire Consumer Affairs Editor
(Filed: 02/09/2006)

About two million car seats and booster cushions will have to be bought by parents to meet new child safety rules and to avoid fines up to £500.

From Sept 18 almost every child under 12 will need to use an approved child restraint while travelling in a car. Parents who refuse to co-operate, or who are unable to persuade children to sit on a booster seat, will face fines.

The Government says the changes will prevent 2,000 child injuries and deaths every year. But critics believe the rules may be difficult to enforce and that parents inevitably will find themselves breaking the law.

The regulations are the biggest changes to motoring laws in more than two decades.

At present, children are required to use suitable child restraints "if available". If one is not fitted, they can use an adult belt. Many parents succumb to pressure from their children and abandon child seats when they reach school age.

Road safety campaigners say adult seat belts can inflict terrible injuries on children. Belts designed to pull against the pelvic bones of adults dig deep into the soft tissues of children, while chest straps can cut into their necks.

After Sept 18 children aged two or less can travel in a car only with a European Union safety approved child seat.

From their third birthday, they must use a child restraint in the rear seats if the car has seat belts. The only exceptions are for emergency journeys, travelling in a licensed taxi or if the car has two child seats and there is no room for a third. In the front seat, a child seat must always be used.

The rules cover children until they reach the age of 12 or are 4ft 5in (1.35m) tall. Police say they are unlikely to take action in the first few months except against parents who persistently flout regulations.

Andrew Howard, the head of road safety at the AA Motoring Trust, welcomed the changes, but said their success depended on how sensibly they were enforced by police and courts. "It is hard to argue against a change that will make children safer," he said. "But every parent is going to find themselves in a position where they will break the new rules at some point."

Parents who give other children lifts to school will need to start planning their journeys carefully, he said.

Halfords said the industry expects to sell up to two million child seats and booster seats before the changes. But the market could be much higher.

The Office for National Statistics said there are 4.4 million children aged six to 11.

Restraints range from simple £10 polystyrene booster seats to fully adjustable seats from about £50.

"It is really important to us that we have got the right offer and we have spent a lot of time and effort on promotional campaigns," said a spokesman for Halfords.

The Department for Transport said it has spent about £500,000 promoting the rules. "There is a common sense aspect," a spokesman said. "If people are in doubt, lots of stores have experts who can advise them."

Parents can also seek advice from the Think road safety website.

Yes, a nice rope round the neck should do.

I had a situation at the bank holiday weekend and I don't expect there would be any way I could have easily not broken this law.

would you be asking the same question if you rode a motorcycle or would you have asked them to bring along their own safety equipment?

would you be asking the same question if you rode a motorcycle or would you have asked them to bring along their own safety equipment?

However, If you see a friend in town and it is raining you cannot offer them and thier children a lift home any more.

Under 12s in your car must have safety seats

However, If you see a friend in town and it is raining you cannot offer them and thier children a lift home any more.

Does that apply regardless of how tall the child is, and the fact that an adult seatbelt fits an 8 year old perfectly well?

The rules cover children until they reach the age of 12 or are 4ft 5in (1.35m) tall.

Would that not be covered by the "unexpected nessecety" exception?

taxi trips will be out, because they won't put them in and won't store in the boot.