If you have a front-facing 1-year-old, or if your 6-year-old is out of his booster seat, you have less than a month to change the way your kids ride inyour car.
Effective November 1, Oklahoma's car seat laws will go from being some of the most lax child restraint laws in the nation to being much more strict. Thesenew changes put the state's car seat and child restraint requirements much more in line with recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Existing law says, "Every driver, when transporting a child under six (6) years of age in a motor vehicle operated on the roadways, streets, or highwaysof this state, shall provide for the protection of said child by properly using a child passenger restraint system," and, "Children at least six (6)years of age but younger than thirteen (13) years of age shall be protected by use of a child passenger restraint system or a seat belt."
In other words, kids 5 and under have to be in a proper "child restraint system," but there is no mention of whether an infant or child should ride front-facingor rear-facing, or what the appropriate "child restraint system" might be for an older child. In fact, there is no recommendation for the use of boosterseats, which are important for child safety until he or she is tall enough to safely wear a seat belt. Once a child reaches age 6, under current law,a seat belt will suffice--even though few children are large enough to safely rely on a seat belt at that age.
If you have been operating under the existing law, things are about to change significantly. Effective November , 47 O.S. � 11-1112,parents can expect the following changes:
Read the AAP's statement on child passenger safety and its car seat recommendations here.
