The child restraint law requires that any child who is 4 years of age and/or weighs less than 40 pounds to use a child safety restraint that meets federal motor vehicle standards, unless the child is in a taxicab or other public vehicle, or there is an emergency situation. (See chart below.) Law enforcement officers can stop motorists as a primary offense for not having children buckled up.

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

The law, revised in June, 1994, allots 65% of all fines to the Child Highway Safety Fund. This fund furnishes child restraint systems to eligible families and provides public education programs regarding the benefits of child restraints.

• In 1998, there were 575 passenger vehicle occupant fatalities among children under 5. Of these, an estimated 293 (51%) were totally unrestrained
• Among children under 5, an estimated 299 lives were saved in 1998 by child restraint use
• At 100% child safety seat use for children under 5, an estimated 472 lives could have been saved in 1998
• From 1975-1998, an estimated 4,193 lives were saved by child restraints (child safety seats or adult belts)

On September 1, 1999, the Department of Transportation issued rules that require compatibility between all cars and all child safety seats. According to the rules, auto makers are required to install metal bars behind new car rear seats to serve as an anchor for all child seats.

The anchorage system requirement will be phased in over three years and must be in all new passenger vehicles and on all new child restraints manufactured on or after September 1, 2002. Some child restraint manufacturers and auto makers will voluntarily introduce these anchorage systems prior to the required date.

Child seat manufacturers have flexibility in their design of attachments to hook seats to a vehicle's anchor system. A tether strap, intended to prevent head and neck injuries by stabilizing a child's head, will secure the top of forward-facing child seats and attach to a pin on the vehicle's rear package shelf.

Diagrams depicting these anchorage systems are displayed below. Additional information and updates regarding child safety seat information can be obtained by visiting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) website, www.nhtsa.dot.gov.