New Child Restraint ("Booster Seat") Law (Public Act 43 of 2008)
As of July 1, 2008, Michigan law requires children to
be properly secured in a child restraint system who are: between the ages of
4 and 8 years old AND are less than 4 feet, 9 inches tall.
The child restraint system may be either a child seat
with harness straps or a booster seat (no-back or high-back), depending on the
child's weight. It must be used in accordance with the child restraint
manufacturer's and vehicle manufacturer's instructions and applicable federal
standards.
An operator of a motor vehicle transporting a child who
is found responsible for not placing the child in a child restraint can be
fined $25 for a civil infraction.
The child restraint requirement does not apply to
passengers of a school bus or those in other motor vehicles not required to be
equipped with safety belts under federal law.
The law was amended to require child restraints because
of serious injuries that can result when a child is too small to wear a
seatbelt properly. When a child's lap belt is worn on the abdomen rather than
the pelvis, or when a shoulder strap is worn across the neck rather than the
shoulder and ribcage, severe bodily injuries can result if an accident occurs.
According to a study published in the Journal of the
American Medical Association in 2003, children between the ages of 4 and 7 who
use child restraint systems are 59 percent less likely to be injured than
children secured by seatbelts alone.
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