Research shows that UK parents are still confused with the latest laws around backless booster seats for children, one year after the rules were announced.
The research, conducted by Confused.com, reveals 88% of mums and dads are still perplexed by the February 2017 law, which requires children to use a car seat based on their height, age and weight, until they are 12-years-old or over 135cm tall.
Only children who weigh 22kg or more, or are 4ft 10in (125cm) tall, are recommended to use backless booster seats, whereas previously the law had allowed children who weighed 15kg which is now not deemed suitable.
Crucially, parents or drivers caught carrying a child under the age of 14 while not buckled up correctly can face fines up to £500, with a staggering 4,648 child seatbelt violations recorded between 2016 and 2017.
And one in 10 parents admit to being pulled over by the police for driving while their child was not in car seat or wearing a seatbelt. Those who have been prosecuted for the offence say it has set them back £161 in fines on average.
Worryingly, many parents in the UK are putting themselves at risk of these hefty fines, as more than a quarter of parents admit to driving while their child was not in a suitable car seat.
And a shocking 31% claim they thought their child didn't even need one, while others confessed to not even bothering to put their child in a car seat because they switched to another vehicle and didn’t transfer the seat over.
But there have been complaints from dozens of parents that they think the rules are unclear which led Confused.com to create a child car seat calculator to help guide them in the right direction.
The calculator helps baffled parents identify which car seat group their child belongs to, based on their age and weight which will keep them on the right side of the law and help them find the safest solution for their child.
Amanda Stretton, Confused.com's motoring editor, said: “The car seat regulations introduced in February last year (2017) are still causing confusion among parents, so we wanted to make it clearer by creating a child seat calculator.
“Crash impact films show what a difference having the correct car seat can make to your child’s protection. And while the rules might be confusing, they are in place to make sure children are as safe as possible.
"Mums and dads who do not comply with the law risk face fines of up to £500. Parents who are still baffled by the law should look into specialist guides to choosing the right child car seat, or use the calculator to find one that is best suited for their age or weight.”
To try the child car seat calculator click here.
