People often use the term ‘booster seat’ as a blanket term for all kinds of car seats or child passenger restraint systems.
Texas law regarding the use of car seats and booster seats can be found in Section 545.412 of the Texas Transportation Code.
It simply states that a child should be in a car seat that is appropriate according to manufacturer guidelines until they are a minimum of eight years old or taller than four feet nine inches.
The lack of explicit guidelines in the law leaves room for families to follow best practices and safety guidelines for the specific car seats they choose to use rather than broad rules that may not be appropriate in every situation.
The National Highway Safety and Traffic Administration provides a relatively comprehensive explanation of the various car seat types, including booster seats, and their generally appropriate use. However, manufacturer guidelines may vary, so you should always check the requirements for your particular seat when making decisions about your child’s safety.
When to Use Rear Facing Child Seats
Children should be rear-facing without exception from birth to one year of age.
However, most child passenger safety technicians and NHTSA recommend children stay rear-facing until they max out of the height and weight requirements of the seat they’re in.
The minimum guidelines per most car seat manufacturers, such as Graco, do not allow a child to forward face until they weigh around 22 lbs. However, Texas DOT suggests the best practice of maxing out height or weight requirements before turning a young child forward facing.
When to Use Forward Facing Child Seats
Once your child has maxed out the height or weight limits, best practice allows you to move your child to a forward-facing seat.
This may mean you turn a combination seat your child is already using, or you may purchase a forward-facing or all-in-one seat.
These seats still have a five-point harness to secure your child and will limit the forward motion in an accident.
Just like the transition from rear-facing, Texas DOT guidelines, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the NHTSA advise waiting until your child has maxed out the height and weight requirements of the seat.
When to High Backed Booster Seats
When your child is ready to transition to a booster seat, generally around the age of six or so, they should be mature enough to sit upright and appropriately without the five-point harness.
A high-backed booster seat is often used to ease this transition because it has the same structure as the previous seat but only uses the vehicle’s seatbelt.
A high back booster provides additional spine and head support compared to a backless booster.
When to Use Backless Booster Seats
A backless booster is the last step before your child uses a seatbelt alone. These seats are meant to provide additional height to your child, ensuring the seatbelt will fit them safely and appropriately. Texas law requires children to remain in this kind of car seat until they are at least 8 years old or 4’9”. However, if your child has not met the height or weight limit of a booster seat and does not fit an adult seatbelt safely, you may continue its use at the caregiver’s discretion.
Penalties for Booster Seat Noncompliance in Texas
The Texas statute cited above asserts that the failure to secure a child in an appropriate restraint system is generally a misdemeanor offense. This offense may come with fines of less than $100 to $250. However, the consequences can be more serious if the violation is paired with other charges, such as drunk driving.
The legal ramifications of failing to follow Texas booster seat laws may be minimal. However, the real-life consequences can be devastating. At Liggett Law Group, we see the devastating consequences of poor driving decisions every day, and unnecessary injuries to a child is a preventable disaster.
The Texas DOT cites car accidents as the number one cause of death among children.
They continue to say that nearly half of all car seats are misused. While poor use of a car seat may be better than complete lack of use in many cases, it does not bode well for positive outcomes.
The practical risks and penalties of inadequate car seat and booster seat use cannot be understated. The CDC reports that in states whose booster seat laws extend to include seven-year-olds, the fatality rates in car accidents for that population dropped 25%.
Similarly, the instances of fatal or incapacitating injuries decreased by 17% in states whose booster seat laws covered children to the age of seven or eight.
Ensure Your Children Are Appropriately Secured
If you have concerns about how your child’s car seat is installed, how your child should be restrained, or how to install the seat, Texas offers several resources to check this. First, you may schedule a child safety seat inspection any time throughout the year with Save Me With a Seat. Additionally, the Texas Health and Human Services can help you find a Safe Rider location or other Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST) who can show you how to install a car seat and ensure your child is buckled correctly.
Buckling Your Child
Although using a five-point harness can seem simple, an appropriate fit is critical to ensuring your child’s safety in their car seat or booster seat. The manufacturer’s manual provides details on how the harness or seatbelt should fit your child.
You may also find an explanation for how the vehicle’s seatbelt should fit your child in a booster seat, including how to position the belt guide if your seat has one. According to the Texas DOT, once your child is eight years old or 4’9”, the shoulder belt should fit across the clavicle (not the neck), and the lap belt should sit across the hips (not the belly). An appropriate fit can decrease unnecessary injury to internal organs or the neck and throat.
If you need help with your personal injury claim, you can contact our car accident lawyers today to get the support you need.