Are all states as bad as mine?

britfish · Apr 26, 2009

I can't believe how bad the child restraint law is in NH. The only restriction is children under 6 be in a child restraint but if they are over 55 inches this does not apply.
So basically there are no restrictions on RR, FF, type of seat, etc.. I mean it does have to be in accordance w/ seat regulations but some boosters have pretty low weight limits. I have a friend whose 3yo is 42lbs. and she has her in a booster, ugh.
Are all states this un-specific on the laws? I mean we are the only state that doesn't require adults to wear seatbelts so its no surprise.

joolsplus3 · Apr 26, 2009

Nope. Some are worse.

http://www.iihs.org/laws/ChildRestraint.aspx

britfish · Apr 26, 2009

thats a great link. I can't believe how unspecific most states laws are.

brightredmtn · Apr 26, 2009

Oh well you're in the Libertarian mecca with the slogan "live free or die." NH isn't known for an abundance of laws.

ETA that California which is just about as opposite as you can get to NH (in terms of number of laws) really isn't any better on the car seat front.

tjham · Apr 26, 2009

They're bad in Arizona too. And it's not illegal to ride in the back of a pickup. They tried a few years ago to make a law and the legislature said it would hurt rural families with lots of kids.

http://www.iihs.org/laws/cargoAreas.aspx

MomToEliEm · Apr 26, 2009

Texas is worse as the law currently states as long as a child is 36" (usually happens around 2-3 years old) they don't have to be in anything but an adult seatbelt. They do have the word "5 years old" in the law too, but it is 5 years or 36" and most kids reach the 36" mark long before 5. The new booster law is very close to being passed though, so hopefully our law will soon be 8 or 4'9" soon.

AtTheSouthDam · Apr 26, 2009

I like how Oregon's is worded, leaving out forward facing and just saying child restrain for those 3 and younger.

Wisconsin's "required" in front of every thing makes ERF and EH sound illegal. CO is 'meh" I wish we required boosters longer.

brightredmtn · Apr 26, 2009

atsuydam said:
I like how Oregon's is worded, leaving out forward facing and just saying child restrain for those 3 and younger.

Yes but if your child is more than 40lbs they MUST ride in a booster in OR. And yes some cops will ticket if you have a child above 40lbs in a harness.

monstah · Apr 27, 2009

britfish said:
NH.

:happy-wavehello: Hi from my Gilmanton I.W. vacation home.

dhardawa · Apr 27, 2009

Most laws just say to go by the manufacturer's recommendation. I know Indiana does.

But, the laws are useless because no one enforces them here anyway. The cops know nothing about car seats and, unless you had an unrestrained newborn and the cop was mad about something else, no one will do a thing.

Unregistered · Apr 27, 2009

I'm from NH too. I've seen some pretty crazy car seat miss-use that makes me wonder if NH even has car seat laws! I am willing to bet that my kids are the only toddlers that RF past their first b-day in the area I live.

solmama · Apr 27, 2009

For the most part, no one here uses carseats for kids over the age of 3. My neighbors (who lack judgement in other ways, as well), let their 4 and 6 yo's ride unrestrained, in the front seat of their SUV. I think they're pretty typical. I see either no use or misuse all the time. I probably get some pretty odd looks from people who see my 5 year old in a harness.

Adventuredad · Apr 27, 2009

I think a good law gives some nice guidance but in the end it's up to parents to keep kids safe in the car. Here in Sweden the law is lax IMHO but parents still keep kids rf to age 4-ish. There is nothing in the law about minimum rf weight or age but it's till rare to see a 3 year old ff.

IMO, it would help if all states had the same law regarding seat belt and car seat use. I think it would greatly increase safety.

ketchupqueen · Apr 27, 2009

Adventuredad said:
IMO, it would help if all states had the same law regarding seat belt and car seat use. I think it would greatly increase safety.

Yes, but politics mean it will not happen for a loooong time, if ever.

There are always going to be states that get very touchy about others "forcing things down their throats." Some more than others. Same deal why the federal gov't won't just make a car seat usage law that all others have to meet the minimums of; they will legislate the standards for making them, but not for using them.

Momof4Girls · Apr 27, 2009

Call me crazy, but I don't believe it is the gov't's job to keep my kids safe. That's *my* job.

With a more than 80% misuse rate, what good are existing laws, anyway?

It is still legal to smoke in a car, windows closed, with kids in the car. It is still legal to drink around your kids. It is still legal to allow your kids to ride bikes w/o helmets. It is still legal to have a trampoline without an enclosure on the outside. It is still legal, in most places, for kids who live within 2 miles of school to walk to school unattended. It is legal for hospital nurses in some areas to refuse to release an infant from the hospital unless the child is in an infant seat (and they can see it)...and forget about convertibles.

There is a state right now trying to pass laws making it illegal for parents to refuse to allow the state to take DNA samples from their child at birth. I can guarantee it's not NH...or SC (my state).

People are forever making wisecracks about there needing to be more chlorine in the gene pool...well, we're legislating out the "chlorine".

Raechel

ketchupqueen · Apr 27, 2009

It is still legal to smoke in a car, windows closed, with kids in the car. It is still legal to drink around your kids. It is still legal to allow your kids to ride bikes w/o helmets.

(Not in my state...)

CTPDMom · Apr 27, 2009

brightredmtn said:
Yes but if your child is more than 40lbs they MUST ride in a booster in OR. And yes some cops will ticket if you have a child above 40lbs in a harness.

Seriously? I find that incredibly hard to believe. Most cops could care less what kind of safety seat is used, they just care that there actually IS one there for the child.

rochelle · Apr 27, 2009

around here the traffic police are on the lookout for kids/toddlers without car seats and they stop lots of pick-ups(Tacoma, F150) with kids hiding under the front. we always wonder how the police spot the 3-4 yr old kid crounch in the front row floor.

the hospital nursery nurse also see that the newborns are nicely buckled in their infant car seat or RF convertibles before going back to the nursery. they didnt check that its correctly done though because DH forgot to tighten the harness and adjust the chest clip.

brightredmtn,

we drove our car from CA to Portland last year and intend to do that again this year. does that mean my DS1 (45lbs) is not suppose to be harnessed in his Frontier? or does it depend on our car license plate being Oregon or CA issued?

britfish · Apr 27, 2009

dhardawa said:
Most laws just say to go by the manufacturer's recommendation. I know Indiana does.

But, the laws are useless because no one enforces them here anyway. The cops know nothing about car seats and, unless you had an unrestrained newborn and the cop was mad about something else, no one will do a thing.

yikes, that is pretty rough. Its hard to see how a child is restrained in a vehicle so w/ the exception of roadblocks (which are illegal in our state) how would they know? If you mean being mad about something else as to say they are pulling you over for something else, then yes,then they could check out the child restraints.

Are all states as bad as mine?

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