Children younger than 7 must ride in a child restraint (car safety seat or booster seat) – following the manufacturer’s instructions. Children 7 through 17 must ride in a child restraint or seat belt. The law applies to all vehicles that were equipped with seat belts when manufactured. The driver is responsible for ensuring all occupants younger than 18 are buckled up in the appropriate restraint. The penalty for the violation of this law is $25 and one point against the license of the driver. The law is primary enforcement, meaning the driver can be stopped for having an unrestrained child younger than 18 in the vehicle.

What if the car has lap-only seat belts?

Booster seats must be used with both lap and shoulder belts. A lap belt may be used by children who weigh more than 40 pounds who ride in vehicles with lap-only seat belts or if all lap and shoulder belts are used by other occupants.

Yes. Booster seats are considered to be car safety seats if they meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. However, the booster seat must be used according to the manufacturer’s instructions, so be sure the child is the appropriate weight for the booster seat.

No. Seat belt adjusters do not meet the intent of the law and should not be used to make a seat belt fit better. Regardless of how these products are labeled, they do not meet any government safety standard. They may help with shoulder belt comfort, but may put too much slack in the shoulder belt or cause the lap belt to ride up over the stomach.

School buses are not covered under the child passenger safety law, unless they were equipped with seat belts when they were manufactured.