Kids' Car Seats & Seat Belts

"Every state and the District of Columbia have enacted child restraint laws that require children of certain ages and sizes to ride in appropriate, federally approved child safety restraint systems. Although each state has a law, some laws only cover children up to a certain size or age requirement. According to the CDC, booster seat use reduces the risk of serious injury by 45 percent for children ages 4 to 8 compared with seat belt use alone."

State statutes that mandate use of child safety seats or restraint systems have been enacted in all 50 states. However, many of these statutes also provide that failure to use such safety devices may not be considered as contributory or comparative negligence; some provide that failure to use child safety belts may not be considered in mitigation of damages; and, some provide that evidence of failure to use these devices is not admissible in any civil action.