Child Safety Restraint Laws

Ohio’s child safety restraint law

The child restraint law requires that any infant or child who is either or both under 4 years of age and weighs less than 40 pounds must be in an approved, properly used child safety seat while being transported in vehicles registered in Ohio (see chart below for law specifics).

Ohio’s law applies to vehicle owners, parents, guardians, friends, neighbors, relatives, schools and day care centers while transporting a child. Law enforcement officers can stop motorists as a primary offense for not having children buckled up properly.

Fines for violators of the child restraint law include the following:

• First offense—up to $100
• Second and subsequent offenses—up to $250 and 30 days in jail

Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
www.nhtsa.dot.gov/CPS/LATCH/

US rules and regulations

All 50 states and the District of Columbia have child restraint laws. For a summary of all state laws, visit www.iihs.org/laws/state_laws/restrain2.html.

The Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) system is designed to make installation of child safety seats easier by requiring seats to be installed without using the vehicle’s safety belt system. Since September 1999, all new forward facing child safety seats (not including booster seats) have met stricter head protection requirements calling for a top tether strap. This adjustable strap is attached to the back of a child safety seat and has a hook for securing the seat to a tether anchor found either on the rear shelf area of the vehicle, or in the case of minivans and station wagons, on the rear floor or on the back of the rear seat of the vehicle. As of September 2000, all new cars, minivans and light trucks were required to have this tether anchor.

Since September 1, 2002, two rear-seating positions of all cars, minivans and light trucks come equipped with lower child safety seat anchorage points located between a vehicle’s seat cushion and seat back. Also, all child safety seats have two attachments which connect to the vehicles’ lower anchorage attachment points.

A diagram depicting the LATCH anchorage system is provided. Additional child safety seat information is available online at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Web site at www.nhtsa.dot.gov/portal/site/nhtsa/menuitem.9f8c7d6359e0e9bbbf30811060008a0c/.

A February 2005 NHTSA report, “Child Restraint Use in 2004 – Overall Results,” found that 98% of infants and 93% of toddlers (ages 1-3) observed in passenger vehicles were restrained in some type of child restraint. But only 73% of children ages 4-7 were restrained, down from 83% in 2003. The study also found:

• Drivers wearing restraints are more likely to restrain their children
• Child passengers need to ride in the rear seat, yet 14% of children ages 4-7 were observed riding in the front seat.

For more information on this study, visit www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/childps/ChildRestraints/2004report.pdf.

NHTSA requirement for middle back seat lap/shoulder belts

In December 2004, NHTSA directed all automakers to equip the middle back seats of passenger vehicles with lap/shoulder belts. Half of all 2006 models and all of 2008 and later models must comply with this requirement. It is estimated that more than half of all 2005 models already are manufactured with middle seat shoulder belts.

Four steps of child passenger safety

The Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS) promotes the four steps of child passenger safety as:

Step 1—Rear-facing child seats for children from birth to at least 20 pounds and at least one year of age
Step 2—Forward-facing child seats for children over 20 pounds and at least one year old to about 40 pounds and about age four. Seat belts can seriously injure or kill small children who are not properly placed in child safety seats.
Step 3—Belt-positioning booster seats until they are at least eight years old, unless they are 4’ 9” tall.
Step 4—Seat belts for older children large enough for the belt to fit correctly: At least 4’ 9” tall and about 80 pounds.

NHTSA position on booster seats

NHTSA’s position on booster seats is that children who have outgrown child safety seats should be properly restrained in booster seats until they are at least eight years old, unless they are 4’9” tall. ODPS supports this recommendation.

To access NHTSA’s publication, A Parent’ s Guide to Buying and Using Booster Seats, visit www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/childps/booster_seat/brochure/outside.html.

In June 2005, NHTSA released an “ease of use” rating for child safety seats. NHTSA rated 92 child safety seats from 14 different manufacturers for 2005. Seats are given a grade of “A”, “B” or “C” to denote its ease of use. NHTSA’s “ease of use” ratings can be found at www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cps/cssrating/index.cfm.

*Note: If you use a booster seat, make sure your child meets the weight and height requirements for the make and model of the seat you select. Booster seats, although manufactured for children weighing as little as 30 lbs., are not recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics until a child weighs 40 lbs. It is important that all the manufacturer’s instructions are followed when installing and using a child safety seat. Help Me Grow information is available at 1-800-755-GROW or www.ohiohelpmegrow.org.

Sources: Ohio Department of Public Safety & Ohio SAFE KIDS Coalition

Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

A University of Pittsburgh analysis of 86,000 people injured in frontal collisions in Pennsylvania from 1990 to 2002 found that unbelted occupants in cars with air bags were 1.7 times more likely to suffer a broken neck and 2.4 times more likely to have spinal cord injury than those who both used seat belts and had air bags. (Pittsburgh Post Gazette, 7/7/04)