car seat laws
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
United States
April 6, 2012 12:20am CST
I have a lil debate in my head. I was at a Girl Scout meeting and a few of the Mom's were like oh when lil Mary turned 8 we tossed out her car/booster seat. See now I thought they had to be in a car seat til they were about 5ft tall and atleast 80lbs.
Now to settle this debate in my head of what is right I've got two sites http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/bystate/wi.html THis one if you look under Child Passenger Safety it lists " 80 and 57")" To me this says they have to be atleast 8 AND 57" AND 80lbs to only need a seat belt.
This site says http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/safety/vehicle/child/docs/booster-seat-law-facts.pdf Says now if the child is 8 that's fine, but on the other hand if the child is not 80lbs for 57inches tall they need a booster. I'm not sure how tall my oldest who's 9 is but I know she's not near 5ft tall and she's 60 lbs if she's lucky.
Shouldn't she be in a booster still or not? I've had her sit in the front of hubby's car when the younger two are with (it only seats 4) and the seat belt doesn't hit her right at all w/o a booster seat IMO, it looks too loose & too high on her.
2 people like this
5 responses
@rogue13xmen13 (14403)
• United States
6 Apr 12
California is the same way. Children under 80 lbs have to be in a booster seat, no "ifs", "ands" or "buts". If your child is under 80 lbs and your child is not in a booster seat, then you will receive a ticket.
@sassy28 (834)
• United States
6 Apr 12
I am lucky we do not live there, because my almost 13 year old is only 67 lbs on a good day. He is over 57 inches tall. I could just imagine the fights we would be having if I tried to get him to still sit in a booster seat. We would not be driving anywhere.
1 person likes this
@rogue13xmen13 (14403)
• United States
6 Apr 12
This law has been and is still being contested because like you just said, what if they are 13-years-old, and they are now teenagers and only weigh that much. That would be quite an embarrassment for the teen. I think that they need to fix this law a little bit more. My brother and I, luckily, were big children, and by the time we were both 7 and 8, we were bigger than majority of the children in our classes, and never really needed any booster seats. I think we grew out of them by the time we were 5 and 6. I think that the law does discriminate a little bit.
@sid556 (30960)
• United States
21 Apr 12
I would go with the size and I am thinking that the law probably does too. It just only makes sense. I don't think it would be about age. It's all about the safety of the child. If the child is under a certain height and weight then it is going to be dangerous for him/her to go without the booster seat. I would check with the local motor vehicle department to be sure on that. I'm sure it varies state to state.
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
6 Apr 12
I have my granddaughter alot and have a carseat in the back seat for her...and that is where it will stay until someone else lets me know different....I think they should be tall enough to be comfortable with a seatbelt on...not only that but another big concern is where will the airbag hit them if you have an accident....I would rather have her safe...and besides that she sits up higher and can see better out the window....and she loves that.
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
6 Apr 12
I once knew a woman who took her son out of a seat as soon as he was 40 pounds, it used to be 40 pounds or 4' tall.
I don't know why parents are so eager to get their children out of safety equipment! They are so precious and their lives can be snuffed out in an instant. We can get another car, another house, another purse or whatever but that child can never, ever be replaced and it takes only a few seconds to protect them with the right equipment.
I'm glad they extended the requirements, especially with all the "distracted" drivers on the road.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
6 Apr 12
I see what you mean, that is confusing. It doesn't say whether or not the child has to meet all of the requirements.. but my 9 year olds aren't 80 pounds either.. they're probably more like 60 themselves.
I always thought that if your child were tall for their age, like say at 7 years old they're already meeting the height requirement, then you can remove the booster seat, because mainly they set the height requirement because the seat belt works best for children of above that height and weight.
I guess I would say your child has to meet one of those requirements to remove the booster seat. Either be 8 years old, weigh 80 lbs (if under 8), or be 57" tall (if under 8).
Ours isn't really that complicated, it just says that a child needs to have a "child restraint system" until their 8th birthday. Now I need to figure out what's the difference between a car seat and a child restraint system?
http://www.dmv.ny.gov/occupant.htm
