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New Booster Seat Law Begins In Florida
January 1, 2015
Beginning January 1, children ages 4 and 5 were required to sit in a child safety seat or a booster seat rather than only being buckled in a seat belt in Florida.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, booster seat use reduces the risk for serious injury by 45 percent for children ages 4–8 years when compared with seat belt use alone.
“Safety belts save lives, but only when used and used correctly,” said Terry Rhodes, executive director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. “Booster seats help elevate children to the height at which the safety belt will properly secure them.”
Many children may need booster seats beyond the age required by law, depending on the size of the child and where the seat belt crosses the body. The following recommendations can help determine if your child, after age 5, is ready to wear a seatbelt without a booster seat:
- the child is at least 4’9” tall;
- the child can sit all the way back in the seat and bend knees at the edge of the seat;
- the shoulder belt lays across the chest, not the neck;
- the lap belt lays across the upper thighs, not the stomach.
Children under the age of 13 should ride in the back seat of the vehicle whenever possible for additional safety.
Comments
6 Responses to “New Booster Seat Law Begins In Florida”
My granddaughter is 5 approx. 65 lbs and uses a booster seat in our sedan. I can find no reference to the law on letting her ride in the front seat of my truck on a booster seat (air bag off). The law states rules using term “vehicle”.
Northendbratt, no your not by yourself, as I’ve stated, I, most of the time, report them, it breaks my heart, to even imagine what a parent would go through mentally, but then some wouldn’t do anything but blame others instead of themselves, I’ve also seen a man driving with 3 kids in a single cab truck, knowing the dangers & it wasn’t a young man either but he wasn’t really old either, so he knew better, one of the kids is prolly kindergarten age sitting on one of other kids lap, but yet can tell others what to do & acts like he does no wrong or his other family
This bothers me,when I take my ten year old granddaughter to school or pick her up, she sits in the back seat of our full size king cab pickup because I have a fear of the air bag, NO exceptions. However, there are people with toddlers riding not in a car seat, hanging out of the windows. There are troppers around the school trying to catch speeders,am I the only one to see this?
Boy have things changed I can remember many times laying down across the back dash on dads old Plymouth going on a road trip because my brothers have the seat took up or riding in the truck bed of dads old ford. We go to extremes to protect our children, but I wish we thought the same when it comes to what kind of country and legacy we leave for them I’m afraid they will have it worse than we have. Children are an heritage of the Lord.
My g’daughter is almost 10 years old, and I thought this was law already! She has always been in a car seat or booster seat until age and height and weight appropriate.
Almost 100% of the time our kids are in their car seats although I can think of maybe 2 no more than 3 times we’ve actually had to use a seatbelt for our 4 yr old like when 1 parent took wrong vehicle, not thinking, only went to pick kid up from school & straight home & baby getting sick in their car seat & then putting it in other car seat & putting 4 yr old in seat belt but if something had happened I still would have to say its my fault, I feel sad & mad every time I see lil ones not in car seats, most of the time I report them, you can sometimes tell when adults are to sure of themselves that it happens a lot for them.