What Is State Law in Ohio Concerning Booster Seats?

The Law

• Ohio's child restraint law now requires motor vehicle operators to secure children who are under 8 years of age and less than 4 feet 9 inches tall in a federally-approved booster seat. According to the law, posted at the Ohio Booster Seat Coalition's website, taxis and public safety vehicles are exempt from the law. Children typically are ready for a booster seat at around age 4 and 40 lbs. Prior to that age and weight, Ohio law requires children to utilize a child safety seat.

History

• Ohio's booster seat law took effect on October 7, 2009, however, the state allowed for a grace period so parents and other drivers could get acclimated with the new regulation. As the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) notes, officers merely issued warnings for the first six months of the law's existence. On April 7, 2010, enforcement of the law began.

Enforcement

• The booster seat segment of Ohio's child restraint law uses secondary enforcement. This means that law enforcement cannot issue a citation simply for a booster seat violation. You must get stopped for another traffic violation before an officer can issue you a booster seat violation. The Ohio Booster Seat Coalition, as of June 2010, advocates for a tougher law with primary enforcement. Citing Children's Hospital of Philadelphia research, the coalition notes that 4-to-7-year old children were 39 percent more likely to be properly restrained in a booster seat or child safety seat in states where police can issue child restraint citations in the absence of another traffic violation.

Penalties

• If you break Ohio's booster seat law, ODH explains that the resulting fine can range from $25 to $75 per violation. Ohio considers initial offenses minor misdemeanors. Repeat offenses, however, are misdemeanors in the fourth degree. Proceeds from child restraint law fines go into a child passenger safety fund. ODH uses a portion of this money to create and market educational programs about the importance and proper use of child restraint devices, including booster seats.

Significance

• Ohio strengthened its child passenger safety provisions partially in response to 34 traffic-related deaths among 4-to-7-year olds between 1999 and 2006. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for kids in that age group in the state. ODH noted that, in 2007, Ohio had one of the lowest rates of booster seat use for 4-to-8-year olds in the nation at 18 percent.

Expert Insight

• The Ohio Booster Seat Coalition advises that children are ready to move on to use of an adult seat belt at around age 8 and at 4 feet 9 inches tall. Before that time, adult seat belts do not fit properly. Booster seats work with shoulder/lap belts to "boost" or lift your child up so that the shoulder portion of a seat belt fits safely across the middle of his chest with the lap belt riding along the thighs.