Child Car Booster Seat Laws in California are Changing on January 1, 2012
Thursday, December 29, 2011 at 11:02PM 
Something to be aware of for next year. Earlier this month Governor Brown signed into law SB 929 to change child booster seat requirements and align them with National Highway Transportation Safety Administration standards effective January 1, 2012.
Current law requires children in the State of California under age 6 or under 60 pounds to be seated in a child restraint seat (e.g. booster seat).
The new law changes this requirement to children under 8 years of age, unless they are 4' 9" or taller.
As a father of kids in this age range, I do think this new law makes sense. The lap belt is supposed to cross the hip area, not lie across the tummy, while the shoulder belt should lie across the chest, not hike up the neck. We've experimented and without the booster seats my kids are simply not fully protected and the belt could do some major damage to their small bodies if not situated correctly.
This law is interesting in that it takes away the weight parameter and replaces it with height. Your kid is "off the hook" if they are 4' 9" or taller before the age of 8. Jersey Shore "celebrity" Snooki Polizzi is 4' 9" tall at the age of 23. If she were just slightly shorter perhaps it would be in her interest to use a booster seat in her car.
I digress. It is interesting how laws vary state by state on this issue. The majority of states require kids 7 and under to sit in booster seats, yet it is currently perfectly legal for a 4 year old to use an adult seat belt in the state of Florida, while Arizona and South Dakota allows 5 year olds to wear adult seat belts. At the other extreme, kids under age 9 in Wyoming all must be in kid seats.
Check out www.iihs.org/laws/mapchildrestraintagerequirements.aspx for well organized information regarding child seat belt laws by state.
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Reader Comments (8)
my child is 7 and 72 pounds, he is 4 foot 4 and was taken out of the booster for the same reason as stated above, I found it LESS secure....Not only am I frustrated so is my child who is as bilg as his 10 year old brother.....who does not need to use a booster......
This is really inconvenient for us who transport children to facilities for afer school programs. They range in ages and heights. Does that mean we have to invest in multiple car seats in order to continue to provide this service????
It is better to be safe than sorry.
Anything this state can do to make lives harder for us they will.its just another way to make us spend money we dont have for this new law,KISS MY ASS CALIFORNIA LAW MAKERS!!!!!!
I find this law makes more sense because the safety is based on how the seatbelt sits on the individual. Although my children are average in height they are very slim. My 10 year old weighs less than 60 pounds but is close to 5' tall. In her case the 60 pound requirement makes no sense. I have a 6 year old that weighs just over 30 pounds. I have been trying to determine what type of seat is best for him. Can I put him in a short booster that has just the car lap & shoulder restraint or do I keep using a tall booster seat that has its own restraint? The confusion here is that there are two types of booster seats.
It only takes a second for an accident to happen. In response to Ryan Graham I hope you never have to look at your child lying in a trauma bay because they were not properly secured in the car. The few bucks it will cost for the correct restraint devise will save alot of money and heartaches in the future if an accident were to happen and your child was not properly secured.
This law is absurd, it ignores that kids and cars come in all shapes and sizes - my car, an Audi TT, has tiny back seats specifically sized for kids - you can't even ride in them if over 4'10" per the owner's manual, and the belt and seats are sized for kids well under that level. My son is 99th percentile on the growth charts. Per this rule, when he's 4'6", which will be LONG before 8 at this rate, he will be legally required to boost his height until his head is hitting the glass in my car - in short, the law will require him to be manifestly UNsafe. This is 100% about revenue and 0% about safety, as usual.
When can a child set in the car front seat for CA State?