CAR SEATS: The law is changing
Car seats are essential to keeping your kids safe while out on the roads. But with the law set to change on March 1, which could mean children up to 12 have to travel on a backed booster seat, shocking new research has revealed that over half of parents are unaware of the new rules - compromising both the law and their children's safety.
Our consumer editor Alice Beer joins us with her simple guide.
SEAT 1. REAR FACING
Babies must travel in a rear facing seat until they are at least 15 months old (all these seats are all EU approved - look for the capital E in a circle) You will know when your baby has outgrown its seat because the top of their head will be level with the top of the seat. Then you either get a larger rear-facing seat or if they are beyond 15 months you move to a forward facing one.
SEAT 2. FORWARD FACING
Experts advise that you know your child is ready to move into forward facing when they can hold their own head up for at least half an hour at a time. They must be 15 months and they should weigh between 9kg to 18kg.
SEAT 3. HIGH BACKED BOOSTER SEAT
From approx 15 kg, about aged 3 onwards, a child will move into a high backed booster seat. Then this is where the law changes.
SEAT 4. BACKLESS BOOSTER SEAT
Under current regulations when your child reaches 15kg they can legally travel in the back of your car on a booster seat like this - with the seat belt around them. But - safety campaigners have for a few years now been concerned about the lack of protection a booster offers.
THE NEW LAW
Up until now a child over 15kg could sit on a booster but from March 1st they will have to weigh 22kg, or be 125cm in height before they can use a backless booster.
Once a child is over 12 years or over 135cm they can sit without a seat. In many other countries - France, Germany and Ireland the law is even stricter still and children up to 150 cm (4 ft 11) have to be in seats.
Now at this point you do not have to run out and buy a new seat - although having seen that footage you might want to. The regulations at the moment affect manufacturers of new seats and people purchasing new seats. Therefore parents can legally continue to use backless booster seats they already own and retailers can continue to sell products they have in stock as they still comply to current regulation.
One in three car crashes occur within just one mile of the driver's home (source insurance firm Elephant.co.uk 2010) and in one survey (source Progressive Insurance 2011) 52% of accidents happened within 5 miles of home.
HOW TO FIT A CAR SEAT
You must deactivate any front-facing airbags before fitting a rear-facing baby seat
You must not use side-facing seats
The seat must either have its own diagonal strap, be designed for use with a lap seat belt, or be fitted with ISOFIX anchor points
ISOFIX anchors the child's chair to the car's back seat. There are three ISOFIX points with two metal bars at the base, and a top tether or support leg.
Make sure the seat itself is fitted as securely as possible, with no excessive movement
Make sure the seat's buckle is clear of its frame - because otherwise it could snap open if you have an accident
With babies, harnesses should be pulled tight, with no more than two fingers' space under the shoulder straps at the collarbone
All car seats featured are from Halfords