Car Seat Regulations for Zone 4
 

Alabama

Section 32-5-222

Florida

http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0316/SEC613.HTM&Title=->2004->Ch0316->Section%20613#0316.613
316.613 Child restraint requirements.--
(1)(a) Every operator of a motor vehicle as defined herein, while transporting a child in a motor vehicle operated on the roadways, streets, or highways of this state, shall, if the child is 5 years of age or younger, provide for protection of the child by properly using a crash-tested, federally approved child restraint device. For children aged through 3 years, such restraint device must be a separate carrier or a vehicle manufacturer's integrated child seat. For children aged 4 through 5 years, a separate carrier, an integrated child seat, or a seat belt may be used.
(b) The Division of Motor Vehicles shall provide notice of the requirement for child restraint devices, which notice shall accompany the delivery of each motor vehicle license tag.
(2) As used in this section, the term "motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle as defined in s. 316.003 that is operated on the roadways, streets, and highways of the state. The term does not include:
(a) A school bus as defined in s. 316.003(45).
(b) A bus used for the transportation of persons for compensation, other than a bus regularly used to transport children to or from school, as defined in s. 316.615(1)(b), or in conjunction with school activities.
(c) A farm tractor or implement of husbandry.
(d) A truck of net weight of more than 5,000 pounds.
(e) A motorcycle, moped, or bicycle.
(3) The failure to provide and use a child passenger restraint shall not be considered comparative negligence, nor shall such failure be admissible as evidence in the trial of any civil action with regard to negligence.
(4)(a) It is the legislative intent that all state, county, and local law enforcement agencies, and safety councils, in recognition of the problems with child death and injury from unrestrained occupancy in motor vehicles, conduct a continuing safety and public awareness campaign as to the magnitude of the problem.
(b) The department may authorize the expenditure of funds for the purchase of promotional items as part of the public information and education campaigns provided for in this subsection and ss. 316.614, 322.025, and 403.7145.
(5) Any person who violates the provisions of this section commits a moving violation, punishable as provided in chapter 318 and shall have 3 points assessed against his or her driver's license as set forth in s. 322.27. In lieu of the penalty specified in s. 318.18 and the assessment of points, a person who violates the provisions of this section may elect, with the court's approval, to participate in a child restraint safety program approved by the chief judge of the circuit in which the violation occurs, and upon completing such program, the penalty specified in chapter 318 and associated costs may be waived at the court's discretion and the assessment of points shall be waived. The child restraint safety program must use a course approved by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and the fee for the course must bear a reasonable relationship to the cost of providing the course.

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Georgia

http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/GaCode/Title40.pdf

40-8-76.
(a) No new private passenger automobile manufactured after January 1, 1964, shall be sold
to the general public in this state unless such automobile shall be equipped with two sets
of safety belts for the front seat thereof. The safety belts may be installed by the
manufacturer prior to delivery to the dealer, or they may be installed by the dealer.
(b)(1) Every driver who transports a child under six years of age in a passenger
automobile, van, or pickup truck, other than a taxicab as defined by Code Section
33-34-5.1 or a public transit vehicle as defined by Code Section 16-5-20, shall, while
such motor vehicle is in motion and operated on a public road, street, or highway of this
state, provide for the proper restraint of such child in a child passenger restraining system
appropriate for such child's height and weight and approved by the United States
Department of Transportation under provisions of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
213 in effect on January 1, 1983, or at the time of manufacture, subject to the following
specific requirements and exceptions:
(A) Any such child weighing at least 40 pounds may be secured by a lap belt when:
(i) The vehicle is not equipped with both lap and shoulder belts; or
(ii) Not including the driver's seat, the vehicle is equipped with one or more lap and
shoulder belts that are all being used to properly restrain other children;
(B) Any such child shall be properly restrained in a rear seat of the motor vehicle
consistent with the requirements of this paragraph. If the vehicle has no rear seating
position appropriate for correctly restraining a child or all appropriate rear seating
positions are occupied by other children, any such child may be properly restrained in
a front seat consistent with the requirements of this paragraph;
(C) A driver shall not be deemed to be complying with the provisions of this paragraph
unless any child passenger restraining system required by this paragraph is installed and
being used in accordance with the manufacturer's directions for such system; and
(D) The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply when the child's parent or
guardian either obtains a physician's written statement that a physical or medical
condition of the child prevents placing or restraining him or her in the manner required
by this paragraph. If the parent or guardian can show the child's height is over 4 feet
and 9 inches, such child shall be restrained in a safety belt as required in Code Section
40-8-76.1.
(2) Upon a first conviction of an offense under this subsection, the defendant shall be
punished by a fine of not more than $50.00, except in the case of a child who is five
years of age, if the defendant shows to the court having jurisdiction of the case that a
child passenger restraining system meeting the applicable requirements of this subsection
has been purchased by him or her after the time of the offense and prior to the court
appearance, the court may waive or suspend the fine for such first conviction. This
exception shall apply until January 1, 2005. Upon a second or subsequent conviction of
an offense under this subsection, the defendant shall be punished by a fine of not more
than $100.00. No court shall impose any additional fees or surcharges to a fine for such
a violation. The court imposing a fine for any violation of this Code section shall forward
a record of the disposition of the cases annually to the Department of Public Safety for
the sole purpose of data collection on a county by county basis.
(c) Violation of this Code section shall not constitute negligence per se nor contributory
negligence per se. Violation of subsection (b) of this Code section shall not be the basis for
cancellation of coverage or increase in insurance rates.
(d) The provisions of this Code section shall not apply to buses, as defined in paragraph
(7) of Code Section 40-1-1, used in the transport of children over four years of age until
July 1, 2007, provided that the bus is operated by a licensed or commissioned child care
facility, has a current annual transportation safety inspection certificate as required by the
appropriate licensing body, and has evidence of being inspected for use by a child care
facility. If the bus is not a school bus, as defined in paragraph (55) of Code Section 40-1-1,
or a multifunction school activities bus, as defined in 49 C.F.R. 571.3(B), each child over
four years of age and under six years of age shall be properly restrained by a safety belt.
Multifunction school activities buses, as defined in 49 C.F.R. 571.3(B), shall not be
required to transport children five years of age in a child passenger restraining system.

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Kentucky

AN ACT relating to child safety.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky:
Section 1. KRS 189.125 is amended to read as follows:

(3) (a) Any driver of a motor vehicle, when transporting a child of forty (40) inches in height or less in a motor vehicle operated on the roadways, streets, and highways of this state, shall have the child properly secured in a child restraint system of a type meeting federal motor vehicle safety standards.

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Mississippi

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North Carolina

http://www.buckleupnc.org/laws_cps.cfm

NC Child Passenger Safety Law - G.S. 20-137.1
Summary of law

updated 01-04-05

NOTE: Senate Bill 1218, which implemented enhancements to the NC CPS Law, was ratified by the NC Legislature on July 15, 2004 and signed into law by Governor Easley on August 17. The changes went into effect January 1, 2005.

Ages/Positions Covered:
» Children less than age 16 in front or back seats are covered under the NC Child Passenger Safety law.
» Drivers and passengers 16 years old and older are covered by the NC Seat Belt Law.
Vehicles Covered:
» All vehicles required by federal standards to have seat belts are covered. In general, these are cars made after 1967, light trucks and vans made after 1971, and large buses including school and municipal buses.
Restraint Required:
» A properly used child restraint device (CRD) is required if the child is less than 8 years old AND weighs less than 80 pounds. Most parents and other care givers will be able to comply by using belt-positioning booster seats for children between 40 and 80 pounds. The child must be within the weight range for the child restraint/booster seat and it must meet Federal standards in effect at time of manufacture.
» Children may be secured in a properly fitted seat belt at age 8 (regardless of weight) OR at 80 pounds (regardless of age) - whichever comes first. Placing the shoulder belt under a child’s (or adult’s) arm or behind the back is both dangerous and illegal.
» If no seating position equipped with a lap and shoulder belt to properly secure a belt positioning booster seat is available, a child who weighs at least 40 pounds may be restrained by a properly fitted lap belt only. WARNING: Belt-positioning booster seats can only be used with lap and shoulder combination safety belts. Belt-positioning booster seats must NEVER be used with just a lap belt.
Refer to "What are Options for Children over 40 pounds? in the "Choosing and Using" section for additional information on booster seats and safer alternatives for lap-belt-only seating positions.
Position in Vehicle:
» The CRD must be installed in the rear seat if the child is less than age 5 and 40 lbs.and if the vehicle has a passenger side air bag and a rear seat.
» Front seat installation is allowed if the CRD is designed for use with air bags.
Exemptions:
» Vehicles not required to have belts (such as cars made before 1968 and pickup trucks, SUVs, and vans made before 1972, and large buses)
» Ambulances and other emergency vehicles
» If child's "personal needs" are being tended to
» If all seating positions with belts are occupied
Responsibility/Penalties:
» Driver responsible for all children less than sixteen
» Penalty not to exceed $25
» Full court costs apply ($100)
» Two (2) driver license points
» No insurance points
» No conviction if the child is less than 8 years old and proof is presented at trial that an appropriate CRD/Booster seat has been acquired for a vehicle in which the child is normally transported since the violation.

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South Carolina

SECTION 56-5-6410. Child passenger restraint systems; age and weight as basis for required restraining system; standards. [SC ST SEC 56-5-6410]

Every driver of a motor vehicle (passenger car, pickup truck, van, or recreational vehicle) operated on the highways and streets of this State when transporting a child five years of age or younger upon the public streets and highways of the State must provide an appropriate child passenger restraint system and must secure the child as follows:

(1) A child from birth up to one year of age or who weighs less than twenty pounds must be properly secured in a rear-facing child safety seat which meets the standards prescribed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

(2) A child who is at least one year of age but less than six years of age and who weighs at least twenty pounds but less than forty pounds must be secured in a forward-facing child safety seat provided in the motor vehicle which meets the standards prescribed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

(3) A child who is at least one year of age but less than six years of age and who weighs at least forty pounds but not more than eighty pounds must be secured by a belt-positioning booster seat. The belt-positioning booster seat must be used with both lap and shoulder belts. A booster seat must not be used with a lap belt alone.

(4) If a child is at least one year of age but less than six years of age and weighs more than eighty pounds, the child may be restrained in an adult safety belt. If a child less than six years of age can sit with his back straight against the vehicle seat back cushion, with his knees bent over the vehicle's seat edge without slouching, the child may be seated in the regular back seat and secured by an adult safety belt.

(5) A child who is less than six years of age must not occupy a front passenger seat of a motor vehicle. This restriction does not apply if the motor vehicle does not have rear passenger seats or if all rear passenger seats are occupied by other children less than six years of age.

Any child restraint system of a type sufficient to meet the physical standards prescribed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at the time of its manufacture is sufficient to meet the requirements of this article.

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Tennessee

55-9-602. Child passenger restraint systems - Violations - Penalties.


  (a) (1) Any person transporting any child, under one (1) year of age, or any child, weighing twenty pounds (20 lbs.) or less, in a motor vehicle upon a road, street or highway of Tennessee is responsible for the protection of the child and properly using a child passenger restraint system in a rear facing position, meeting federal motor vehicle safety standards in the rear seat if available or according to the child safety restraint system or vehicle manufacturer's instructions. 
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 55-9-603, any person transporting any child, one (1) through three (3) years of age weighing greater than twenty pounds (20 lbs.), in a motor vehicle upon a road, street or highway of Tennessee is responsible for the protection of the child and properly using a child passenger restraint system in a forward facing position, meeting federal motor vehicle safety standards in the rear seat if available or according to the child safety restraint system or vehicle manufacturer's instructions. 
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 55-9-603, any person transporting any child, four (4) through eight (8) years of age and measuring less than five feet (5') in height, in a passenger motor vehicle upon a road, street or highway of Tennessee is responsible for the protection of the child and properly using a belt positioning booster seat system, meeting federal motor vehicle safety standards in the rear seat if available or according to the child safety restraint system or vehicle manufacturer's instructions. 
(4) (A) If a child is not capable of being safely transported in a conventional child passenger restraint system as provided for in this subsection (a), a specially modified, professionally manufactured restraint system meeting the intent of this subsection (a) shall be in use; provided, however, that the provisions of this subdivision (a)(4) shall not be satisfied by use of the vehicle's standard lap or shoulder safety belts independent of any other child passenger restraint system. A motor vehicle operator who is transporting a child in a specially modified, professionally manufactured child passenger restraint system shall possess a copy of the physician's signed prescription that authorizes the professional manufacture of the specially modified child passenger restraint system. 
(B) A person shall not be charged with a violation of this subsection (a) if such person presents a copy of the physician's prescription in compliance with the provisions of this subdivision (a)(4) to the arresting officer at the time of the alleged violation. 
(C) A person charged with a violation of this subsection (a) may, on or before the court date, submit a copy of the physician's prescription and evidence of possession of a specially modified, professionally manufactured child passenger restraint system to the court. If the court is satisfied that compliance was in effect at the time of the violation, the charge for violating the provisions of this subsection (a) may be dismissed. 
(b)  All passenger vehicle rental agencies doing business in the state of Tennessee shall make available at a reasonable rate to those renting such vehicles an approved restraint as described in subsection (a). 
(c) (1)  A violation of this section is a Class C misdemeanor. 
(2) In addition to or in lieu of the penalty imposed under subdivision (c)(1), persons found guilty of a first offense of violating this section may be required to attend a court approved offenders' class designed to educate offenders on the hazards of not properly transporting children in motor vehicles. A fee may be charged for such classes sufficient to defray all costs of providing such classes. 
(d)  Any incorporated municipality may by ordinance adopt by reference any of the provisions of this section, it being the legislative intent to promote the protection of children wherever and whenever possible. 
(e)  Prior to the initial discharge of any newborn child from a health care institution offering obstetrical services, such institution shall inform the parent that use of a child passenger restraint system is required by law. Further, the health care institution shall distribute to the parent related information provided by the department of safety. 
(f) (1)  There is established within the general fund a revolving special account to be known as the child safety fund, hereinafter referred to as the "fund." 
(2) All fines imposed by this section shall be sent by the clerk of the court to the state treasurer for deposit in the fund. 
(3) Any unencumbered funds and any unexpended balance of this fund remaining at the end of any fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund, but shall be carried forward until expended in accordance with the provisions of this section and § 55-9-610. 
(4) Interest accruing on investments and deposits of the fund shall be returned to the fund and remain a part of the fund. 
(5) Disbursements from, investments of and deposits to the fund shall be administered and invested pursuant to the provisions of title 9, chapter 4, part 5. 
(6) The state treasurer may deduct reasonable service charges from the fund pursuant to procedures established by the state treasurer and the commissioner of finance and administration. 
(7) The department of health is authorized, pursuant to duly promulgated rules and regulations, to determine equitable distribution of the moneys in the fund to those entities that are best suited for child passenger safety system distribution. Funds distributed pursuant to the provisions of this section shall only be used for the purchase of child passenger safety systems to be loaned or given to the parent or guardian. 
(g) (1) (A)  Notwithstanding the provisions of § 55-9-603, any person transporting any child, nine (9) through twelve (12) years of age, or any child through twelve (12) years of age, measuring five feet (5') or more in height, in a passenger motor vehicle upon a road, street or highway of Tennessee is responsible for the protection of the child and properly using a seat belt system meeting federal motor vehicle safety standards. It is recommended that any such child be placed in the rear seat if available. 
(B) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 55-9-603, any person transporting any child, thirteen (13) through fifteen (15) years of age, in a passenger motor vehicle upon a road, street or highway of Tennessee is responsible for the protection of the child and properly using a passenger restraint system, including safety belts, meeting federal motor vehicle safety standards. 
(2) A person charged with a violation of this subsection (g) may, in lieu of appearance in court, submit a fine of fifty dollars ($50.00) to the clerk of the court which has jurisdiction of such offense within the county in which the offense charged is alleged to have been committed. 
(3) No litigation tax levied pursuant to the provisions of title 67, chapter 4, part 6, shall be imposed or assessed against anyone convicted of a violation of this subsection (g), nor shall any clerk's fee or court costs, including but not limited to any statutory fees of officers, be imposed or assessed against anyone convicted of a violation of this subsection (g). 
(4) (A) Notwithstanding any provision of subsection (f) to the contrary, the revenue generated by ten dollars ($10.00) of the fifty dollar ($50.00) fine under subdivision (g)(2) for a person's first conviction under this subsection (g), shall be deposited in the state general fund without being designated for any specific purpose. The remaining forty dollars ($40.00) of such fifty dollar ($50.00) fine for a person's first conviction under this subsection (g) shall be deposited to the child safety fund in accordance with subsection (f). 
(B) The revenue generated from such person's second or subsequent conviction under this subsection (g) shall be deposited to the child safety fund in accordance with subsection (f). 
(5) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no more than one (1) citation may be issued for a violation of this subsection per vehicle per occasion. If the driver is neither a parent nor legal guardian of the child and the child's parent or legal guardian is present in the vehicle, the parent or legal guardian is responsible for ensuring that the provisions of this subsection (g) are complied with. If no parent or legal guardian is present at the time of the violation, the driver is solely responsible for compliance with this subsection (g). 
(h)  As used in this section, unless specified otherwise, "passenger motor vehicle" means any motor vehicle with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of ten thousand pounds (10,000 lbs.) or less, that is not used as a public or livery conveyance for passengers. "Passenger motor vehicle" does not apply to motor vehicles which are not required by federal law to be equipped with safety belts. 
(i)  A person who has successfully met the minimum required training standards for installation of child restraint devices established by the national highway traffic safety administration of the United States department of transportation, who in good faith installs or inspects the installation of a child restraint device shall not be liable for any damages resulting from any act or omission related to such installation or inspection unless such act or omission was the result of the person's gross negligence or willful misconduct. 
(j)  Notwithstanding any provisions of this part to the contrary, for any child transported by child care agencies licensed by the department of human services pursuant to title 71, chapter 3, part 5 and transported pursuant to the rules and regulations of such department, such rules and regulations shall remain effective until the department amends such rules and regulations; provided, however, that the department shall either promulgate rules consistent with the provisions of this part or promulgate rules exceeding, based on applicable federal regulations or standards, the provisions of this part no later than January 1, 2007. 
(k) (1)  The failure to use a child restraint system shall not be admissible into evidence in a civil action; provided, however, that evidence of a failure to use a child restraint system, as required by this section, may be admitted in a civil action as to the causal relationship between noncompliance and the injuries alleged, if the following conditions have been satisfied: 
(A) The plaintiff has filed a products liability claim; 
(B) The defendant alleging noncompliance with this section shall raise this defense in its answer or timely amendment thereto in accordance with the rules of civil procedure; and 
(C) Each defendant seeking to offer evidence alleging noncompliance with this section has the burden of proving noncompliance with this section, that compliance with this section would have reduced injuries and the extent of the reduction of such injuries. 
(2) Upon request of any party, the trial judge shall hold a hearing out of the presence of the jury as to the admissibility of such evidence in accordance with the provisions of this subsection (k) and the Tennessee Rules of Evidence. 
(3) Notwithstanding any provision of this subsection (k) to the contrary, if a party to the civil action is not the parent or legal guardian, then evidence of a failure to use a child restraint system, as required by this section, may be admitted in such action as to the causal relationship between noncompliance and the injuries alleged. 

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