The law in OR

Cilia

New member
I suck at searching, so I am just going to post.

According to the DMV handbook this is what the law in OR states about children in cars:
Child passengers under one year of age, regardless of weight, or a child who weighs 20 pounds or less must be properly secured in a child safety
system in a rear-facing position. Child passengers who weigh 40 pounds
or less must be properly secured in a child safety system.

Children weighing more than 40 pounds must ride in a booster seat until
age eight or 4’9” in height. Children over eight years old or taller than
4’9” must use a safety belt system.

According to this DD1, who is 5 and weighs about 35 lbs, is not allowed to ride in a booster, right? And she will not be allowed until she gains about 6 pounds, which will take her about 2 more years... And what happens when she does weigh 40 lbs - do I have to put her in a booster? And if she were to hit 4’9” before she turns 8 (not likely to happen), do I have to take the booster away?

Is this really what the law says? Or have they interpreted the law when writing this handbook?
Thanks!
 
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TechnoGranola

Forum Ambassador
Child passengers under one year of age, regardless of weight, or a child who weighs 20 pounds or less must be properly secured in a child safety
system in a rear-facing position. Child passengers who weigh 40 pounds
or less must be properly secured in a child safety system.

Children weighing more than 40 pounds must ride in a booster seat until
age eight or 4’9” in height. Children over eight years old or taller than
4’9” must use a safety belt system.

What it says to me:
  • kids under 20# or 1 year old, have to be rear-facing
  • kids under 40# must be in a child safety system - this could include a booster
  • kids more than 40# can't use just the seat belt, they have to be in a booster seat at least - I don't think this means you can't use a harnessed seat
  • kids over 4'9" or 8 years old have to at least use a seat belt, they can't be in nothing (like the adult law that would specify all adults need to wear a seat belt) - I don't think this means you can't booster longer
 

Cilia

New member
Child passengers under one year of age, regardless of weight, or a child who weighs 20 pounds or less must be properly secured in a child safety
system in a rear-facing position. Child passengers who weigh 40 pounds
or less must be properly secured in a child safety system.

Children weighing more than 40 pounds must ride in a booster seat until
age eight or 4’9” in height. Children over eight years old or taller than
4’9” must use a safety belt system.

What it says to me:
  • kids under 20# or 1 year old, have to be rear-facing
  • kids under 40# must be in a child safety system - this could include a booster
  • kids more than 40# can't use just the seat belt, they have to be in a booster seat at least - I don't think this means you can't use a harnessed seat
  • kids over 4'9" or 8 years old have to at least use a seat belt, they can't be in nothing (like the adult law that would specify all adults need to wear a seat belt) - I don't think this means you can't booster longer

This is what I would like it to say :p. But... I was told yesterday by a senior tech that DD1 has to be 40 lbs to ride in a booster. According to her a booster is not a child safety system.
 

TechnoGranola

Forum Ambassador
Okay, here's more info here:
http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/TS/safetybelts.shtml#Safety_Belt___Child_Seat_Laws

Interesting that current law actually states that kids over 40# MUST be in a booster. At least they are changing that for 2012 for kids under 8 OR under 4'9" if the seat allows them to be harnessed longer. So, my interpretation on that part was wrong. :p

The more pertinent info is in the statutory requirements linked to on the above page, http://www.leg.state.or.us/ors/811.html

If you scroll way down to 811.210, section 2 (b) and (c) are the points you want to refer to I believe:
(2) To comply with this section:
(b) A person who weighs 40 pounds or less must be properly secured with a child safety system that meets the minimum standards and specifications established by the Department of Transportation under ORS 815.055 for child safety systems designed for children weighing 40 pounds or less.
(c) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, a person who weighs more than 40 pounds and who is four feet nine inches or shorter must be properly secured with a child safety system that elevates the person so that a safety belt or safety harness properly fits the person. As used in this paragraph, “properly fits” means the lap belt of the safety belt or safety harness is positioned low across the thighs and the shoulder belt is positioned over the collarbone and away from the neck. The child safety system shall meet the minimum standards and specifications established by the Department of Transportation under ORS 815.055 for child safety systems designed for children who are four feet nine inches or shorter.

From what point (c) says, a booster IS a child safety system. And that means then that if the booster is "designed for children weighing 40 pounds or less", according to the wording in point (b), it would be legally okay to use. And many of the boosters in the U.S. start at 30# don't they?
 

Cilia

New member
I sure want to read it like you do TechnoGranola, but I don't know. I have no idea what kind of precedence they have here, but I doubt they meant what I want them to mean since they have it written as
CHILD RESTRAINT LAW: Child passengers must be restrained in approved child safety seats until they weigh forty pounds. Infants must ride rear-facing until they reach both one year of age AND twenty pounds.

BOOSTER SEAT LAW: Children over forty pounds must use boosters to 4'9" tall unless they have reached age eight.

CHANGE TO CHILD SEAT LAW effective January 2012: Current law requires children to move from a child seat to a booster after forty pounds. House Bill 3590 signed by Governor 6/9/2011 will allow continued use of child seats up to the highest weight limit allowed by the seat manufacturer, as an alternative to boosters, for children over forty pounds but under age eight or less than 4'9" tall.
on the DMV page. Why would they differentiate between a booster and a car seat if they were the same?
 

TechnoGranola

Forum Ambassador
Well I think they've shot themselves in the foot if they are trying to say kids can't be boostered until 40#, due to how they define a booster as a "child safety system". Part (b) would then have to specifically exclude "boosters" since all it states is "child safety systems designed for children weighing 40 pounds or less" and a booster would meet that criteria according to them defining the booster in part (c). So, even if whoever wrote this up wants no kid under 40# to be in a booster, then the statutory regulations are written with a loophole that would allow someone to get out of a ticket if their booster says that it is rated for less than 40#.

They are differentiating because there are 2 different laws. I'm thinking that the child restraint law always existed and they added another booster law on top of it. As most politicians do, they plop in something without thinking it through entirely and whether or not they've caused problems, created overlap, etc. and didn't think of any exceptions.

I'm thinking Judi might have some knowledge in this area, I'm going to PM her and she can chime in if she does.
 

Cognito*

New member
Why would they differentiate between a booster and a car seat if they were the same?

In a few legal statutes I've read for other states it really appears the "booster" section was tacked on to the existing law. I think that is why one part specifically says booster even though boosters were already included in the definition of child restraint systems. The word booster is used since it is part of the booster bill that was passed to update the law. Does that make sense?
 

Judi

CPST/Firefighter
I doubt you would ever get in trouble for putting your 35 lbs 5 yr old in a booster. They are just trying to keep kids in boosters until at least 40 lbs.

Here is the Acts Oregon link, for those kids that actually get to 40 before 4.

Best Practice Recommendation:
Children riding in a forward-facing seat with a harness should remain in that seat until they reach the upper height and weight limits before graduating to a booster seat. For children who are not at least age 4, but weigh over 40 pounds, an alternative to a booster seat may provide the best protection.

http://www.actsoregon.org/boosterSeats.html
 

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