If you are pulled over and carrying child passengers, police officers will check for required safety systems and will see if seat belts fit children correctly. It is a good idea to check how car seats and seat belts fit as your children grow since you will need to upgrade once a child outgrows a car seat. Once children hit 57 inches, the regular seat belt laws apply.
Under the new car seat laws, failure to use a booster seat for a child who still needs it will result in a $30 fine. You can avoid paying the fine if you show proof that you since purchased a booster seat. Once your child reaches his or her ninth birthday and is over 57 inches tall, you no longer need a booster seat but you will need to follow seat belt usage laws or risk those fines.
The new law, though, does not assign civil liability to drivers who fail to use restraint systems. Contributory negligence is a defense strategy that states the plaintiff had a role in his or her injuries or those sustained by passengers. While this can be relevant if you were also driving recklessly, it is not admissible evidence if children are not in restraint systems. You can face the fine and other penalties, but you will not be considered responsible for injuries just because you did not use a car or booster seat.
However, the benefits to using a child restraint system are very clear. According the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, infant safety seats are 71 percent effective at reducing Kentucky traffic deaths, 67 percent effective in reducing hospital visits, and 54 percent effective in reducing fatalities for children between the ages of one and four. When it comes to booster seats, 90 percent of children between the ages of four and eight sustain serious injuries in car accidents when drivers do not use one. With liability not being an issue for drivers, avoiding the trouble of booster or car seats almost seems worth avoiding the extra trouble. The reality is, these devices save lives and reduce serious injury. Even if the law was not enacted, the effort is still worth it as it will preserve a child's quality of life.