The child restraint must be … Parents and caregivers are responsible for properly restraining a child and will be ticketed if they fail to do so. Car seats and boosters provide protection for infants and children in a crash, yet car crashes are a leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 13. Booster Seat Law Children over forty pounds or who have reached the upper weight limit for their forward-facing car seat must use a child seat with harness or a booster to 4'9" tall or age eight and the adult belt fits correctly. From the age of 8 until they reach their 16th birthday, children must be restrained in a seat belt whenever they ride in a vehicle. Any children under five years old and under 40 pounds must be secured in the rear seat … 07/16/2008 The proper use of child restraints (i.e., car seats, booster seats, seat belts) is the most effective methods available to prevent fatalities in a motor vehicle crash. Children must be in a car seat until they reach age 4 and 40 pounds, and in a booster seat until they reach age 8, more than 80 pounds in weight, or more than 4 ft. 9 in. Once a child is 4 feet 9 inches or taller, they are no longer required to ride in a booster seat, regardless of age. • Children that weigh more than 40 pounds and are passengers in vehicles with rear seating positions that do not have lap and shoulder belts, should wear the lap belt low and snug on the hips. Once a child is 8 years of age, s/he no longer needs to ride in a booster seat, but s/he must be secured in a properly adjusted seat belt. Car seats are secured into a car and use their own 5-point safety belt. The impact of a deploying air bag striking a rear-facing child safety seat could result in injury or death to the child. Booster seats are different than car seats. There are laws in place regarding the safe use of booster seats, but they vary from state to state. Rear-facing car seats are required until at least age 1 and at least 20 pounds. As part of these car and booster seat laws of TN, most children need to use a safety restraint until they turn eight years of age. This law was last updated in 2006. Rev. However, shorter passengers may need to use a booster seat for longer, even if they are older than eight years of age. The importance of child safety seats and car seat and seat belt laws cannot be overstated. All children riding in passenger motor vehicles must be in a federally approved child passenger restraint that is properly fastened and secured according to the manufacturer's instructions until they are 8 … Booster seat laws are incorporated into the general state laws for child passenger safety, so your use of a car seat or a booster seat will generally be based upon your individual child. A booster seat is not installed into … Never use only the lap belt with a booster seat. Forty-eight states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico require kids who have outgrown their car seats—but are still too small to safely use an adult seat belt—to use a booster seat; the only states that don’t are Florida and South Dakota. (4) A child at least eight years of age or at least fifty-seven inches tall may be restrained by an adult safety seat belt if the child can be secured properly by an adult safety seat belt. Children up to age 13 must ride in the back seat when practical. Booster Seat Laws in Maryland. Once a child is at least 80 pounds, he or she is no longer required to use a car seat or booster. A booster seat must not be used with a lap belt alone. Penalties for failing to follow the child passenger safety laws: The fine is $25.00 for the first offense, $50.00 for the second and $100.00 for the third offense. According to Texas State Law, children must be in a car seat until they reach 8 years old or 4'9 and the car seat must be installed according to manufacturer's instructions. According to Illinois State Law, all children under the age of 8 years old must be in an appropriate safety restraint for their height and weight. Alabama law further requires that children ride in booster seats until at least age 6 and that they use seatbelts until at least age 15. Footnotes. Always use both the shoulder and lap belts with a booster seat. Booster seats protect children from serious injury 3-½ times better than seat belts alone. Car Seat Recommendations for children up to age 13 Illinois’s child safety laws aren’t the strictest … Illinois Car Seat Laws Read More » Children must ride in a seat until they reach the age requirement … (3) Booster seats until the child is six years of age. A child in a rear-facing car seat may only ride in the front seat if the airbag is turned off. Does Maryland Law prohibit children riding in the front seat? Children should remain in booster seats until they can safely use an adult seatbelt. A new law in Washington state will keep kids in booster seats longer. Kentucky Booster Law states that "Any driver of a motor vehicle, when transporting a child under the age of eight (8) years who is between forty (40) inches and fifty-seven (57) inches in height in a motor vehicle operated on the roadways, streets, and highways of this state, shall have the child properly secured in a child booster seat. The exception is placing a rear-facing child in the front seat with an active air bag. Seat Belt and Booster Seat Laws It is against the law in Texas to operate or ride in a motor vehicle without using a safety belt. If no shoulder strap is available, a child weighing at least 40 pounds can use a lap belt without a booster seat. A safety belt violation could cost the driver $25 to $250 in fines, on top of additional court costs. For the safety of all young passengers, these laws first went into effect on July 1, 2004. Upwards of 3 out of every 4 children in child restraints are not properly secured, some not restrained at all. NOTE: Doctors and safety experts recommend that children ride in booster seats until the lap and shoulder belt fit right, usually when they …