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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.
- For more information on child passenger safety, visit
michigansafekids.org and
boosterseat.gov.
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