Kentucky State Law on Child Restraints
In Kentucky, you not only have to pay attention to your child's age, but you also have to assess his height when considering the state's child restraint law. Simply put, Kentucky requires children to use some type of child restraint device through their 6th birthday. If your kid is taller than 50 inches, though, she is exempt from the law, but this does not mean you should toss out your booster seat.
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Child Car Seat Use
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Under Kentucky law, parents must secure children, who are 40 inches or less, in a child restraint device when traveling in a motor vehicle. Kentucky defines a "motor vehicle" as any vehicle designed to carry 10 or fewer passengers. The law excludes motorcycles, mopeds and farm trucks, registered for agricultural use with a gross weight of one ton or more. If you violate this portion of the child restraint law, the State of Kentucky can slap you with a $50 fine.
Booster Seat Use
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If your child is 6 years of age or younger and is between 40 and 50 inches, you must keep him in a booster seat while travelling in Kentucky. An offense under this section of the law carries a $30 fine. As the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) points out, Kentucky's child restraint law does not advise parents on seating position. Children can ride in the front or back seat.
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Seat Belt Use
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Kentucky permits seat belt use for children who are 6 years old and younger, as long as they are taller than 50 inches. All children, beyond their 6th birthday, can utilize an adult seat belt minus the assistance of a booster seat. The seat belt law in Kentucky uses primary enforcement and triggers a $25 fine for violations. Under a primary law, Kentucky police can stop you merely for breaking the seat belt law; no other offense needs to occur.
Age-Appropriate Guidelines
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In a slight deviation from the state's law, the Kentucky State Police recommend parents keep children in a booster seat until an adult seat belt fits them properly. Consensus in the child passenger safety community is that this occurs at 57 inches tall, while Kentucky law allows seat belt use at any height above 50 inches. The Kentucky State Police warn that kids are too small for a seat belt if any part of it obstructs the face, neck or stomach. The State Police urge parents to use a rear-facing infant seat until 1 year of age and 20 pounds. Forward-facing car seats are meant for kids up to about 40 pounds, at which point booster seats become the appropriate application.
Significance
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According to the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety, 19 children under the age of 15 were killed in traffic crashes in the state in 2008. Of those, 11 rode unrestrained. They point out that child restraint devices reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71 percent for infants (less than 1 year old) and 54 percent toddlers (between 1 and 4 years old). Booster seats, relative to the use of a seat belt by itself, drop injury risk by 60 percent.
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- Photo Credit Kentucky state contour against blurred USA flag image by Stasys Eidiejus from Fotolia.com
