• Children under 8 have to be in a child safety seat or a booster seat unless they are 4 feet 9 inches tall. Under the current law, only children under 5 and shorter than 36 inches have to be in a child safety seat. Though the law becomes effective Sept. 1, tickets cannot be issued until June 2010.
• Children under 5 may not ride on a motorcycle, though they may ride in a sidecar.
• People riding in 15-passenger vans must use seat belts and child safety seats as required in other vehicles. Before, only drivers of the vans were required to wear seat belts.
• Drivers may not use cell phones in school zones unless they use a hands-free device. (There is some debate as to whether local governments can get around this law by not installing warning signs. The City of Austin plans to install signs).
If you want to read more of the many new laws that go into effect tomorrow go HERE. I want to see what laws they have taken away.... hmmmm, that never seems to happen.
2 comments:
Having been in several accidents as a passenger and doing much research into car seats and boosters, I can honestly say that I am thrilled about this new law (and this is coming from someone who usually isn't thrilled with most laws)! A booster seat keeps the safety belt from crushing internal organs in an accident.
My eight year old son is still in a booster because he isn't big enough to be without it. And as humiliating as it may be to be seen in one, he knows that Mom only makes him ride in one because I care about him. My one year old also still rides rear facing (AAP's new recommendation of RF until 2 or when the RF limits of the convertible seat are reached)
I'm also happy about the cell phone law, just because I've seen too many close calls around my kid's schools.
Check out http://www.car-seat.org/
*Climbing off my soapbox* :)
Love the blog Tiffany!
-Linz
Your 9 year old can relax. The law states that children under 8 have to be in a booster seat. The only way to get around that IF YOU ARE UNDER 8 is to be over the heigth requirement. So hopefully that helps everyone relax a little!
Love the blog, btw!
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