Am I reading this law right?

[Cinazu]

We live in Missouri, and it states:

"A child less than four years old or weighing under 40 pounds must be secured in a child passenger restraint system appropriate for the child.
A child over four years of age, but less than eight years of age, who also weighs between 40 and 80 pounds and is under 4'9" tall, must be secured in a child passenger restraint system or booster seat appropriate for that child.
Children at least 80 pounds, or children more than 4'9" tall, are required to be secured by an appropriate vehicle safety belt or booster seat."

So according to this, my 6 yo daughter who is 38 lbs and 43.5 inches tall should still be harnessed, right? She is in a Radian in our car, but I've thought about getting her a HBB to use in carpool/field trip situations. Up until now I've sent her carseat along with her for field trips, but since she is one of the only (if not the only) kid in her class still harnessed, I'm not convinced that the seat will be used correctly if she rides with another parent and I'm not there to install.

If she could go in a HBB, what would you recommend? She has used a Turbo Booster at my parents' house and did fine. I've also thought about getting her something like a Nautilus that we could also use harnessed, as we take long road trips a few times per year and it might be easier for her to sleep in there.

We also have another daughter who is currently in a Britax Decathalon that is about to expire. She is 4 yo, 31 lbs and 39 inches, and a son who is 8 months old and in a snug ride. He is 16 lbs and 26 inches.

Any suggestions about what to get next? I could get a HBB for ODD and move YDD into the radian once her seat expires, and then get something else once my son is out of the snugride, or get something else for YDD once her seat expires and keep ODD in the radian. We are flexible on budget, and we have a 2011 Odyssey, and I'm not set on them being in any specific positions, except I'd like to keep the baby in one of the captains chairs so he's accessible to get in and out.

 

[MomToEliEm]

Here is an old post discussing this law.
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=58586

307.179. 1. As used in this section, the following terms shall mean:

(1) "Child booster seat", a seating system which meets the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards set forth in 49 C.F.R. 571.213, as amended, that is designed to elevate a child to properly sit in a federally approved safety belt system;

(2) "Child passenger restraint system", a seating system which meets the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards set forth in 49 C.F.R. 571.213, as amended, and which is either permanently affixed to a motor vehicle or is affixed to such vehicle by a safety belt or a universal attachment system;

http://www.moga.mo.gov/statutes/C300-399/3070000179.HTM

There is some confusion as to if a booster seat might count as a child restraint, but since they differentiate between the booster seat and carseat, maybe they really do mean a harness. You could always get a latchable booster, which would count as a seat that is attached to the vehicle using latch.

I will let the techs answer your other questions about what seats might be best for your kids.

 

[Cinazu]

Thanks. I hadn't thought that a latchable booster would meet the requirements. I guess my other question is if it is safe for her to be in a booster since she doesn't weigh 40 pounds yet? I see that listed as the minimum in lots of responses, but usually paired with a younger age? Since she's 6, would it be ok? Or should we just wait?

 

[T4K]

I think you should do whatever is best for your daughter. Frankly, a very small percentage of the police force will know the difference. I wouldn't get too caught up in the law for your own child.

It sounds like you are doing fine. I'm not saying to go out and rob a bank. I am just saying that keeping your kid safe in the car is the point so as long as you are doing that, you are awesome.

 

[1mommy]

At 38 pounds with a good breakfast and heavy shoes on she might just weigh 40 pounds. But if you want to booster her, I would buy a booster rated from 30 pounds for her just to be safe. Also I doubt a cop could just look at her and determine that she weighs 38 pounds instead of 40 and would bring out a scale to double check her weight.

I agree with Thirsty that you need to do whats best for your daughter unless its robbing as bank

 

[Cinazu]

Thanks - I guess I didn't really think a cop would weigh her. I've never even heard of the law being enforced around here, and if it is it certainly isn't enough to stop parents from doing crazy things - my four year old had a field trip last week and only 2 other parents besides me sent car seats instead of booster, and most kids were in LBBs! I usually just try to drive on the field trips, but it isn't always possible to get child care for the other kids.

I had another question about boosters - how do kids tend to do sleeping in them? We take a couple of long (12-14 hour) road trips each year to visit family, and thankfully all our kids sleep at least part of the time in the car. She hasn't had trouble sleeping in her Radian, but I'm wondering if we should get a combination seat so that we could harness her again if we needed to on those trips? Or is it okay as long as she stays upright and doesn't slump over?

 

[starshine514]

I had another question about boosters - how do kids tend to do sleeping in them? We take a couple of long (12-14 hour) road trips each year to visit family, and thankfully all our kids sleep at least part of the time in the car. She hasn't had trouble sleeping in her Radian, but I'm wondering if we should get a combination seat so that we could harness her again if we needed to on those trips? Or is it okay as long as she stays upright and doesn't slump over?

My girls do really well sleeping in their HBBs on road trips. They tilt their heads back/over into the headwings and stay aligned properly with their seatbelts. All of the HBB we own have decently deep headwings (we have a Recaro Vivo, a Graco Turbobooster w/ Safety surround and a Britax Parkway SG).