Proper Use clauses

thekatie

New member
Do ALL states have a proper use clause in their actual legislation about child passenger safety/restraints? If not, how can one find out for certain about specific states? Maybe my Google Fu just stinks but I have trouble finding the actual text of the law for many states.
 
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ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
No, not all.

Start by going to the website of the state's motor vehicle regulatory agency (google it- sometimes it's the DMV, sometimes DPS, etc.) and search child restraint law. If that doesn't get you the full text of the law, it should get you a citation reference. Then google that code number with ”*state* code” with the name of the state in question, and you should find the text; alternatively, go to the state's attorney general's website, find the searchable state law link, and search that code reference.
 

jjordan

Moderator
What state are you in (or what states are you wondering about)? People here may have links handy depending on what you're looking for.
 

thekatie

New member
I'm actually in TN, which is pretty good :) But I was on a message board and an argument about NH came up. A lady was saying because a state trooper told her there was no rear facing law, and the "state website" only says children under 6 must be restrained, that there was no legal requirement to rear face. It took me a while to find the actual law, I couldn't find it until I searched for "code" (thanks!).

Then another lady said that proper use would not hold up in court, and because the law doesn't clearly state an age for forward facing, it still didn't apply... but I guess that's another issue...
 

jjordan

Moderator
Yeah, I think that what happens in court (more or less) comes down to a judge's interpretation of the law (or what has happened in previous cases if there have been any). NYS's law says that children should be in an "appropriate" restraint, and then later on in the law it explains what is meant by "appropriate." So in a case like that, if you just read the first part you might think that "appropriate" is up for debate, but really it's pretty specifically defined at some point.
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
In proper use states with no other law, there's at least one seat I can think of that allows ff before one. Sigh.
 

MotoMommaNH

New member
I'm actually in TN, which is pretty good :) But I was on a message board and an argument about NH came up. A lady was saying because a state trooper told her there was no rear facing law, and the "state website" only says children under 6 must be restrained, that there was no legal requirement to rear face. It took me a while to find the actual law, I couldn't find it until I searched for "code" (thanks!).

Then another lady said that proper use would not hold up in court, and because the law doesn't clearly state an age for forward facing, it still didn't apply... but I guess that's another issue...

Fortunately they are raising the age minimum for using a child restraint. Unfortunately it's only to age 7
 

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