Patent ID: 7131703

Claim:
An apparatus for restraining a child with the lap belt and shoulder belt portions of a seat belt of a vehicle, comprising: a) a safety vest having a front, a rear, first and second sides, and an upper and a lower end for being worn on an upper torso of a child, wherein said safety vest has an inside and outside; b) closure means being disposed on said front of said safety vest whereby the vest can be placed on the child and then removed from the child; and, c) first and second spaced and vertically extending slots being disposed on said rear of said safety vest so that the lap belt and shoulder belt portions of the seat belt pass through said first and second slots, said first slot having a separator for separating the lap belt and shoulder belt portions of the seat belt, wherein said first and second slots extend from said outside to said inside of said safety vest so that said first and second slots pass entirely through said safety vest and said seat belt passes between the child and the rear side of said vest and between the first and second slots, wherein said second slot also has a separator whereby said vest is usable for either side of a left or right seated passenger and each separator comprises hook and loop material on each of said first and second slots so that said hook and loop material bridges across opposite sides of said outside portion of each of said first and second slots leaving end portions of said slots open to separate the lap portion from the shoulder portion of the seat belt.