car booster seats in Italy

[meysey]

we have booked a hire car for our holiday and the firm says that children under 12 need a booster seat but that they cannot supply one and you have to bring it with you. at home our 5-y-o doesn't use his any more, and we are not keen to add to mountains of luggage.

is this rule enforced? should we take a booster?

I thought this rule had already come in here,or was to come in soon.It's proberbly a Europe wide rule.
My boys are 7yo and don't use a booster seat any more,but I've kept them as I had heard this rule was coming in soon,I thought it was April,but I've not heard much in the news so could be wrong.

Highly unlikely that it is enforced since no one seems to enforce any traffic rules there. However, there is a safety aspect to this rule and considering the extremely high accident rate in italy and all the crazy drivers...I would recommend bringing with you at a minimum one of those things that cinches the seat belt so that it doesn't sit across your child's neck as this is really the main purpose of a booster seat. You can get them for under £10 and they fit into a handbag.

The law here came into effect from May and means that they have to have a booster seat until they are 12 or a set height (which I think was about 4 foot 10) - I got the info from Mothercare. It would be great if someone made an inflatable booster sat (although it would need a cotton cover to soak the sweat) which would be great for travelling with the tweenies!