The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) recently rolled out new seatbelt safety rules to protect child passengers. These rules revolve around the use of safe car seats for children. 

The focus on child safety comes in the wake of a report by TxDOT that shows traffic accidents as the leading cause of death among children in Texas. Understanding the state’s auto safety rules can help you avoid trouble with Texas highway troopers. 

Specific Requirements for Different Ages

From birth to two years, a child must ride in a rear-facing car seat or until they are taller than the maximum height recommended by the seat manufacturer. Toddlers who have outgrown the rear-facing baby car seat and children above two years are required to sit in a forward-facing baby safety seat with a harness until they exceed the recommended weight, height, or attain the age of four. 

Child passengers aged four to eight years or children aged below four years but who have outgrown the two to four-year-old car seat should sit on a belt-positioning booster seat. The law requires the child to ride in the belt-positioning booster seat until they are eight or attain a height of 4 feet and 9 inches. Failure to comply with these guidelines can result in the driver facing a fine of up to $250.

Requirements of the Law

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), child safety seats can reduce a child’s chances of being injured in a car accident by up to 71 to 82 percent. 

Under the new regulations, all occupants of a car below eight years must be secured in a child safety car seat at all times when the vehicle is on the road. Guardians cannot simply place a child in a booster seat. The booster seat must be securely fastened. The law requires that the seat be installed and used according to the manufacturer’s guidelines. 

Drivers must also know the car seat manufacturer’s height, weight, and age recommendations. After a child’s eighth birthday, a child can use the standard vehicle seat belt even when shorter than four feet and nine inches. 

Children over Eight Can Use the Booster Seat Too

“You do not have to get your child out of the belt-positioning booster seat just because they are eight,” says TX-based injury attorney Felix Gonzalez. According to attorney Gonzalez, their continued use of a booster seat ensures they are safe until they can use a standard safety belt. 

These new seat belt laws do not set aside the existing laws that require every passenger a driver to have a seatbelt on or risk getting a ticket. The state has been on a two-decade-long buckling up campaign dubbed “click it or ticket” that aims to raise awareness about the danger of riding in a vehicle without a seat belt and how having one can save lives in the event of an accident.