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Child Passenger Safety

Provisions in Vermont law (23 V.S.A. § 1258) often guide parents and other caregivers in making decisions about how to transport their children safely.

Officer checks an infant seat

No individual shall operate a motor vehicle, other than a type I school bus, in this State upon a public highway unless every occupant under 18 years of age is properly restrained in a federally approved child restraint system as defined in 49 C.F.R. § 571.213, as may be amended, or a federally approved safety belt, as follows:

  1. a child under two years of age shall be properly secured in a federally approved rear-facing child restraint system with a harness, as those terms are defined in 49 C.F.R. § 571.213, as may be amended;

  2. a child under five years of age who is not properly secured in a federally approved rear-facing child restraint system in accordance with subdivision (1) of this subsection shall be properly secured in a forward-facing federally approved child restraint system with a harness until the child reaches the weight or height limit of the child restraint system as set by the manufacturer;

  3. a child under eight years of age who is not properly secured in a federally approved child restraint system in accordance with subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection shall be properly secured in a booster seat, as defined in 49 C.F.R. § 571.213, as may be amended;

  4. a child under 18 years of age who is not properly secured in a federally approved child restraint system in accordance with subdivision (1), (2), or (3) of this subsection shall be restrained in a safety belt system

  5. a child under 13 years of age shall always, if practical, ride in a rear seat of a motor vehicle; and

  6. no child shall be secured in a rear-facing child restraint system in the front seat of a motor vehicle that is equipped with an active passenger-side airbag unless the airbag is deactivated.

An individual shall not be adjudicated in violation of this section if:
  1. the motor vehicle is regularly used to transport passengers for hire, except a motor vehicle owned or operated by a child care facility;
  2. the motor vehicle was manufactured without safety belts; or
  3. the individual has been ordered by an enforcement officer, a firefighter, or an authorized civil authority to evacuate individuals from a stricken area.
The civil penalty for violation of this section shall be as follows:
  1. $25.00 for a first violation;
  2. $50.00 for a second violation; and
  3. $100.00 for third and subsequent violations.

 

For more information about child passenger safety, visit beseatsmart.org or call them at 888.868.7328.

For more information about general highway safety, please visit shso.vermont.gov.