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CHILD RESTRAINT USE MODEL LAW Purpose: The purpose of this legislation is to complement the state's safety belt use law so that, taken together, this law and the belt law will require that all occupants of motor vehicles, regardless of age or seating position, be appropriately restrained in order to reduce the incidence of injuries and fatalities resulting from motor vehicle crashes on the streets, roads and highways.1 Section 1: Title This act may be cited as the [state's] Child Restraint Use Act. Section 2: Definitions. As used in this act: Section 3: Application. This act shall apply to all occupants of motor vehicles on the streets, roads, and highways of this state. Section 4: Operation of motor vehicles with occupants younger than 16 No driver shall transport any child in a motor vehicle in this state unless the child is properly secured in a child passenger restraint system or safety belt as provided below. If the driver is neither a parent or guardian of a child and the child's parent or guardian is present in the vehicle, then the parent or guardian is responsible for complying with the provisions of this act. (a) For children younger than 4 years, regardless of weight, or weighing less than 40 pounds, regardless of age, a child passenger restraint system must be used. 2 Section 5: Penalty4 [(a)] An offense under this section is punishable by a fine of not less than fifty
dollars ($50) and no more than one-hundred dollars ($100). The Committee’s overall objective is to provide model laws that operate together to protect all motor vehicle occupants and to provide for standard (primary) enforcement of the safety belt law. As originally enacted, the application provisions of child restraint and safety belt laws in most states exempted classes of occupants, including many children based on the type of vehicle, state in which the vehicle is registered, seating position, relationship between driver and child occupants, age of the child, and residency of vehicle occupants. The Committee strongly recommends that legislators carefully review any revisions in the model language of either the Safety Belt Law or the Child Restraint Use Law to assure that such revisions do not inadvertently create exemptions or gaps in coverage for any class of occupants. Similarly, legislators considering only one of these model laws are strongly advised to review the state’s restraint laws to assure that comprehensive coverage will be provided for all occupants.
2 Drafter’s Note: The National Transportation Safety Board has recommended that for children younger than 8 years, regardless of weight, or weighing less than 60 pounds, regardless of age, a child passenger restraint system should be used.
3 Drafters’ Recommendation: In the event of a crash, the rear seat is the safer seating position. Legislators may wish to enact language to provide maximum protection to children 12 and under. This issue is particularly important in light of injuries and fatalities that have occurred when infants and young children have gotten in the path of an air bag early in its inflation. The risk is greatest for infants in rear-facing child restraints, unbelted or incorrectly belted children traveling in the front seats of vehicles with passenger side air bags. The following language is offered for legislators wishing to provide additional protection for children by requiring that they be seated in the rear of vehicles, whenever possible. Additional provision for Sections 4 (a) and (b): (c) All children 12 years old or younger shall be properly secured as provided above in the rear seat of any motor vehicle equipped with a rear seat, unless all available rear seats are in use by other children.
4 Drafters’ Note: License sanctions have been shown to be among the most effective methods of increasing compliance with traffic laws. Survey research has demonstrated that persistent safety belt law violators are unwilling to use safety belts even when high fines are imposed. They report that license sanctions would, however, increase their compliance. The following is offered for those legislators wishing to consider imposition of points or other license sanctions for violators of the child passenger restraint law. For states with point systems: Section 5(b): A person who violates Section 4 of this Act shall be assessed two (2) points. For states that do not have point systems: Section 5(b): Violation of Section 4 shall be considered a minor moving violation for the purpose of driver license records.
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