New seatbelt laws to start in Qld | QLD News | Breaking News in Queensland

NEW seatbelt laws come into effect on Thursday forcing Queensland parents to ensure their young child is buckled-up in an approved car restraint.

The new rules require all children up to seven years old to be appropriately seated in an Australian Safety Standard approved child restraint or capsule, according to their age and size.

Minister for Transport Rachel Nolan said the use of seatbelts and child restraints improves the chances of surviving a serious car crash by up to 50 per cent.

"This is the reason for the rule changes - to save lives and to reduce the road toll specifically amongst children," she said in parliament on Wednesday.

During the past five years in Queensland there have been 51 fatalities resulting from road crashes where the child was aged seven or under - at least 10 per cent of those killed were not restrained at all.

"Children are vulnerable, and it is the responsibility of parents, carers and drivers to properly restrain them to keep them safe," Ms Nolan said.

A driver will face a $300 fine and the loss of three demerit points for driving with a child who is incorrectly restrained.

The RACQ, which helped develop the new laws, said it had long been an area of concern for the club.

RACQ traffic and safety executive manager John Wikman said 2006 research showed almost half of Queensland's four to seven-year-olds were not being properly restrained.

"Our study found 45 per cent of that vulnerable age group were using improperly fitted restraints, the incorrect type of child seat or, in the worst cases, no child restraint at all," Mr Wikman said.