A good handout to add to restraint unit.

VERMONT IMPROVES ITS CHILD PASSENGER SAFETY LAWS

New provisions will take effect January 1, 2004

    Provisions in Vermont Law are often what guide parents and other caregivers when they are making decisions on how to most safely transport their children. Current law outlines inadequate protection for children, especially those between the ages of 5 and 8 years. Children 5 –– 8 years old have outgrown child car seats but are not big enough for the car’’s seatbelts to fit them or to adequately protect them in the event of a car crash. A booster seat is needed for these children to raise them up so the car’’s seat belts fit them properly. This past session, the Legislature improved the law, thereby safeguarding children and giving parents proper guidance.

    The new law, effective January 1, 2004, stipulates that no person shall operate a motor vehicle, other than a type I school bus, in this state upon a public highway unless every occupant under age 16 is properly restrained in a federally approved child passenger restraining system as defined in 49 C.F.R. §§ 571.213 (1993) or a federally-approved safety belt, as follows:

    All children under the age of one, and all children weighing less than 20 pounds, regardless of age, shall be restrained in a rear-facing position, properly secured in a federally-approved child passenger restraining system, which shall not be installed in front of an active air bag; A child weighing more than 20 pounds, and who is one year of age or older and under the age of eight years, shall be restrained in a child passenger restraining system (This means convertible, combination and booster child safety seats); and a child 8 through 15 years of age shall be restrained in a safety belt system or a child passenger restraining system.

Penalties for failing to follow the child passenger safety laws:
    The fine is $25.00 for the first offense, $50.00 for the second and $100.00 for the third offense. No points will be assessed to the license of the driver. Medical exemptions were repealed, as improvements in car seat technology have eliminated the need for any exemptions.

Contact your local pediatrician or the number below to learn more.