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Car Seat Safety

Current Law

  • Children under 2 years of age must ride in a rear-facing car seat unless the child weighs 40 or more pounds OR is 40 or more inches tall (please comply with limits specified by the car seat manufacturer).

  • Children under the age of 8 must be secured in a car seat with a five-point harness or belt-positioning booster seat in the back seat.

  • Children who are 8 years OR have reached 4'9" in height may be secured by a booster, but at a minimum must be secured by a safety belt.

Graduating to a Booster Seat

  • Keep your child in a five point harness as long as possible.

  • Children can be in a booster seat when they have outgrown the weight or height limit of their forward-facing harness, typically between 40 and 65 pounds.

  • Children should use a belt-positioning booster seat until they are at least 4'9" and between 8 and 12 years of old.

 

Seatbelt Safety Requirement

  • Child must be at least 4'9" tall to legally and safely use a regular seatbelt.

  • The lap belt should rest low on the hips, touching the upper thighs not across the tummy.

  • The seatbelt lies comfortably across the center of the child's chest not hike up the neck.

  • Children's legs should also be long enough to bend over the seat at the knees when the child is sitting back against the seat.

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