North Dakota Child Passenger Safety Law
Research indicates that, as children increase in age, parents are less likely to use appropriate child restraints. A 2003 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Traffic Safety Fact Sheet reported that while 99 percent of infants and 94 percent of toddlers were in child safety seats, the number of restrained children ages 4-7 dropped to 83 percent. Nineteen percent of restrained children ages 4-7 used appropriate booster seats, while the remaining children had graduated prematurely to safety belts. In a 2002 observational survey conducted by the North Dakota Department of Health 39.6% of children in Fargo were riding unrestrained in a vehicle.
Guidelines
Infant Seats
Babies should ride in rear-facing seats as long as possible according to the manufacturer's instructions. They must ride in a rear-facing car seat until they are at least 12 months old and weigh at least 20 pounds.
Toddler Seats
Children who weigh more than 20 pounds and are at least 1 year of age, and can no longer ride rear-facing, should ride in a forward-facing car seat with harness until they weigh 40 pounds.
Booster Seats
Children who weigh between 40 and 80-100 pounds and are less than 4 feet, 9 inches tall, should use a booster seat to position the lap and shoulder belt.
Seat Belts
Kids who weigh more than 80-100 pounds and are more than 5 feet tall should use seat belt. If seat belt doesn't fit, refer to five-step test below.
5-Step Test
Is the child seated all the way back against the vehicle seat?
Do the child's knees bend comfortably at the end of the seat?
Is the lap belt low on the hip bones?
Is the shoulder belt centered on the shoulder and chest?
Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?
If you answered "no" to any of these questions, your child will need a booster seat to ride safely.
Children 12 and younger should ride in the back seat — even if your vehicle doesn't have airbags.
Latest Car Seat News
An amateur video called "Importance of a 5-Point Harness Carseat" was posted to YouTube on Nov. 2 and has reached nearly a million viewers so far. The mother reports in this very moving story that her 3-year-old son Kyle was killed while riding in his booster seat when the safety belt came unlatched in a rollover crash. Kyle's family urges parents and caregivers to use a forward-facing car seat with a higher weight harness (the video mentions the Britax Regent) with LATCH and they discourage use of safety belts with child restraints. Keep in mind, however, the weight limit for lower anchors and tethers in the LATCH system is 48 pounds. Any child restraint system for a child who weighs more than 48 pounds must be secured with a seatbelt. Safety belts are tested to rigorous standards to make sure they can secure much heavier adults.
We have no information about the safety belt in this family's car or the way it was used at the time of the incident. We do know that safety belt failure is extremely rare. We also know that Kyle's sister, who was seated next to Kyle and was secured in an identical booster seat using the safety belt, survived the crash with no serious injuries. Kyle was over 40 pounds and was using a booster seat because he had outgrown the weight limit on his forward-facing car seat.
We contacted Steve Wallen, a spokesperson for SafeGuard, the child restraints division of IMMI. This is the only U.S. company that makes both safety belts and car seats. Steve says: "We do not know the actual vehicle or belt system but in general it would be extremely rare for a safety belt to release in a crash. It does make a case for higher weight limits for lower anchors and tethers, and parents and advocates can lobby vehicle manufacturers to increase capacity. My biggest fear is that parents will be afraid of and stop using seat belts. Seat belts have a 40-year track record with great success and must be used for the higher weight child."
Bottom line: Anyone using any child restraint system needs to read and follow the manufacturer's instructions, as well as any applicable guidelines and warnings in the vehicle owner's manual. A child who weighs more than 48 pounds is safest in an appropriate child restraint system secured with the safety belt or as directed by the vehicle and CR manufacturer. For more information, please contact Safe Kids Fargo/Moorhead at 701-234-7233.