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Child Passenger Safety: Safety Seats |
There's a new Law!
As of January 1, 2002, California has a new Child Restraint Law, requiring children to ride properly buckled up in safety or booster seats until they are at least 6 years old or weigh 60 pounds. For more info, see:To find out where to get your child safety seats checked in the Palo Alto area, call the Santa Clara/San Mateo SAFE KIDS coalition at 725 Welch Road Palo Alto, CA 94304, telephone: 650-497-8164.
See also our flyer in English and in Spanish explaining why you should do this.
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Most kids riding in child safety seats are improperly restrained. Parents often don't realize they need to alter the type of child safety seats they use as children grow.
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When children outgrow convertible seats, at around 40 lbs., they should be restrained in booster seats until they are big enough to fit in an adult seat belt, at about 80 lbs. and 4'9" tall.
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A child under 80 lbs. is generally too small for an adult seat belt. The lap belt rides up over the stomach and the shoulder belt cuts across the neck. In a crash, this can cause critical or even fatal injuries.
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According to a NHTSA study, after age four, restraint use falls from 91 percent to 68.7 percent. Over 47 percent of fatally injured children ages four to seven are completely unrestrained. Only 6.1 percent of booster size children are estimated to be using a booster seat.
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Child safety seats - including booster seats - are very effective in saving children's lives during crashes. With so many child safety seats, seat belts, and vehicles on the market today, it can be very difficult to properly install a child safety seat. Parents should have their child safety seats inspected by a trained and certified technician in their community.
So remember: Children ages 4 to 8 (about 80 pounds) should be in a booster seat and restrained with lap and shoulder belts every time they ride. Adult safety belts do not adequately protect children this size from injury in a crash.
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Correct
Restraint
This simulation (left) shows how a 6-year-old child properly restrained in a belt-positioning booster seat barely moves during a 35 m.p.h. crash. |
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Incorrect
Restraint The same child, (left) improperly restrained in an adult seat belt with the shoulder belt behind the back, is thrown forward dramatically in the same crash. The inappropriate fit of the seat belt and lack of upper body restraint puts the child at risk for severe head, spine, abdominal and brain injury. |
To find out where to get your child safety seats checked, call the Santa Clara/San Mateo SAFE KIDS coalition at (650) 724-3783 or make an appointment with a PAPD officer certifed as a child safety seat technician by calling (650) 329-2687.
"Boosters Are For Big Kids"
Did you know most kids need to ride in a booster seat from about age 4 until at least age 8?
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Does the child sit all the way back against the auto seat?
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Do the child's knees bend comfortably at the edge of the auto seat?
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Does the belt cross the shoulder between the neck and arm?
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Is the lap belt as low as possible, touching the thighs?
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Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?
For more information on booster seats and child passenger safety, check out these links:
Safe
Kids: Protecting
your family in the car with proper child restraint systems
Safe Kids: Why
kids are at risk in the car
American Academy of Pediatrics: Resources
on Car Seat Safety (especially their "One-Minute
Car Seat Safety Check-up")
NHTSA: We
Must Get Kids into Booster Seats
Consumer Reports: What
to look for in a booster seat (along with ratings and recommendations)
CHP:
Give 'Em a boost: New Law Effective January 2, 2002
2001
Family Shopping Guide for Car Seats
(includes discussion of infant-only seats, convertible
seats, forward-facing seats, belt-positioning booster seats, and built-in
seats)
NHTSA:
A Parent's Guide to Booster Seats
(studies show about 70 percent of children 3 and younger
are properly restrained, but that number drops to as low as 20 percent
for children 4 to 9, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
said)
Ford
Motor Company "Boost America program
Buckle
Up America: There's just too much to lose
2002 California Buckle-Up Laws for Parents
(V.C. 27360) Babies and small children must ride properly buckled up in safety seats or boosters until they are at least 6 years old or weigh 60 lbs. A child who weighs over 40 lbs. and is riding in a car without combination lap and shoulder belts in the back seat may wear just a lap belt.
(V.C. 27360.5) Older children may ride in safety seats, booster seats, or properly fitted vehicle safety belts.
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The parent gets the ticket if a child under 16 is not correctly buckled up. The driver gets the ticket if the parent is not in the car.
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The ticket could cost up to $270 per child; the fine for a second offense is $675. One point is added to the driving record, which could raise insurance rates. Part of the fine money goes to a special fund to help pay for local car seat education and distribution programs.
Important information for parents: Safety belts do not fit most children properly until they are at least 8 years old. To find out if a child is big enough to wear just a safety belt, use the 5-Step Test. Most booster seats are not recommended for children under 35-40 lbs. or under age 3-4. Special products are available for older vehicles without rear shoulder belts or young children who have outgrown a safety seat with a harness but are too active to sit in a booster wearing a lap and shoulder belt. For a copy of the 5-Step Test or information about using safety seats and boosters correctly, call SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A.
Auto insurers are required to replace safety seats that were in use during a crash.
(V.C. 27315) Drivers and passengers 16 or older must wear vehicle safety belts.
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The driver may be ticketed for not wearing a belt and for each unbuckled passenger.
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Passengers also may be ticketed for not being correctly buckled up.
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The ticket could cost up to $22 for each person not correctly buckled up.
(V.C. 23116) Pickup truck passengers also must be correctly buckled up.
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The driver may be ticketed for letting passengers ride in the back of a pickup truck.
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If passengers are riding inside a camper shell, the parent or driver may be ticketed under the child restraint law or safety belt law.