Child Passenger Safety FAQ

State lawmakers felt the previous law needed to be strengthened to reduce the number of children injured or killed on Georgia roadways.
At the time, a total of 14,154 children (6-8 years of age) in Georgia were involved in motor vehicle crashes annually. Of those, 10 were killed and 1,755 were injured. Only 12 percent of these children reportedly used a supplemental restraint, such as a child safety seat or a booster seat, in addition to the adult seat belt.
Hospitalization charges for 248 children hospitalized in traffic-related injuries were about $7 million. Some 5,111 emergency room visits stemming from motor vehicle crashes incurred another $5 million in expenses.
” Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta came to me and said during the last four years 95 percent of the patients they saw for injuries resulting from a motor vehicle crash between the ages of 6 and 8 were improperly restrained,” said Georgia Sen. Jeff Mullis. “I believe it is our responsibility to protect our children and when there is an obvious problem, we need to fix it. I was honored they asked me to work on this issue on behalf of children all across Georgia.”

A few.

Exemptions:

• Children under age 8 whose height is over 4’9” or 57”
• Parent or Guardian has a written statement from a physician that the child has a physical or medical condition that prevents restraining them as required by law.

Exceptions:
A child under age 8 and weighing at least 40 pounds is not exempt from the law. Such a child may use a lap belt instead of a car seat or booster seat when:

• The vehicle is not equipped with lap and shoulder belts; or
• Excluding the driver’s seat, all seating positions with lap and shoulder belts are being used to restrain other children. In this case, placement of car seats / booster seats should be evaluated to determine if seats can be repositioned to provide the best protection for all children being transported.

A child under age 8 may only be in the front seat, properly restrained in a car seat or booster seat when:

• The vehicle has no rear seating position appropriate for correctly restraining a child, or
• All appropriate rear seating positions are occupied by other children.

Yes.

Drivers who transport children under age 8 in a taxicab or public transit vehicle are exempt from the law. Standard school buses and multifunctional school activities buses, as defined in the Federal Register, are also exempt.

(Taxicab is defined as a motor vehicle used to transport passengers for a fare and is fitted with a taxi meter to compute such fare. Public transit vehicle is defined as a bus, van, or rail car used for the transportation of passengers within a system that receives a subsidy from tax revenues or is operated under a franchise contract with a county or municipality of this state).

Children using booster seats are 59 percent less likely to be injured in a crash than those using a seat belt alone.

Seat belts are made for adults and do not fit young children correctly. Booster seats raise children up, so the adult seat belt fits them. Booster seats position the shoulder belt across the shoulder and chest, not the neck. Booster seats also keep the lap belt low over the hip and thigh bones, not across the belly. Children using booster seats are 59 percent less likely to be injured in a crash than those using a seat belt alone.

No.

If the school bus used to transport your child to HeadStart is a standard school system bus, it is not addressed under this law.

Georgia law requires children to ride in the back seat until age 8. 

However, children aged 12 and under should ride in the back seat of the vehicle whenever possible as the back seat is the safest position for children.

Georgia law does account for vehicles with no rear seating positions.

It states: “a child under age 8 may only be in the front seat, properly restrained in a car seat or booster seat when:
• The vehicle has no rear seating position appropriate for correctly restraining a child, or
• All appropriate rear seating positions are occupied by other children.”

Children cannot safely or legally ride in a rear facing seat in front of an active airbag. Also, the vehicle must have a lap and shoulder belt if the child is riding in a booster seat. Booster seats cannot safely or legally be used with lap belts only.

It is important to remove heavy coats, snow suits or bulky layers before placing the child in the car seat or booster seat. These thicker items will make it difficult to properly adjust the harness or seat belt to fit the child. Once the child is properly buckled in you can add a blanket over their lap or put their coat on backwards.

Car seats and booster seats may have an expiration date, or useful life limit which is set by the manufacturer. This information can be found on the car seat shell, on a label, or in the instruction manual. You can also contact the car seat manufacturer to determine the expiration date for your seat. Some of the reasons a car seat or booster seat may have an expiration date include updated technology, labeling requirements, and design improvements.

We strongly recommend you replace your car seat after a crash, even if your child wasn’t in the seat when the crash occurred, or the seat doesn’t appear to have sustained any damage. Depending on the severity of the crash, the internal structure might be damaged in ways that aren’t obviously visible. If the crash is enough to damage the structure of your car it stands to reason that the same force would have an impact on the plastic of your child’s car seat.

Here is a checklist to help you decide whether you want to use a secondhand car seat or booster seat.

· The history of the car seat or booster seat is known.

· The car seat or booster seat has never been involved in a crash.

· The car seat or booster seat has all its parts and is in good working order.

· The labels are present showing the model’s name, number, and date of manufacture.

· The car seat or booster seat is not expired.

· The car seat or booster seat does not have any recalls.

· There is access to the instruction manual.

Certified child passenger safety technicians cannot guarantee that a secondhand car seat or booster seat with an unknown history is safe to use.