What You Need to Know
Use a booster seat with the vehicle lap and shoulder safety belts until your child passes the Safety Belt Fit Test.
Vehicle safety belts are designed to fit an average-sized adult. Children usually need a booster until they are about 4 feet 9 inches tall and weigh between 80 and 100 pounds to get the best protection from a safety belt.
Take the next step to the safety belt when you answer “yes” to these questions:
- Does your child exceed the booster seat’s height or weight limits?
Does your child pass the Safety Belt Fit Test?
1. Have your child sit in a back seat with their bottom and back against the vehicle’s seat back. Do the child’s knees bend at the seat’s edge? If yes, go on. If not, the child must stay in a booster seat.
2. Buckle the seat belt. Does the lap belt stay low on the hips? If yes, go on. If it rests on the stomach, the child must stay in a booster seat.
3. Look at the shoulder belt. Does it lay on the collarbone and shoulder? If yes, go on. If it’s on the face or neck, the child must remain in a booster seat.
- Never put the shoulder belt under the child’s arm or behind the child’s back. Do not allow children to play with the shoulder portion of a seat belt. Treat it like any cord.
4. Can the child maintain the correct seating position with the shoulder belt on the shoulder and the lap belt low across the hips? If yes, the child has passed the Safety Belt Fit Test. If no, the child should return to a booster seat and re-test in a month.
40 to 80 or 100 pounds
- Use a booster seat correctly in a back seat every time your child rides in a car.
- Older kids get weighed and measured less often than babies, so check your child’s growth a few times a year. Use a booster seat until your child weighs between 80 and 100 pounds, is about 4 feet, 9 inches tall and can pass the Safety Belt Fit Test. For most children, that will be between ages 8 and 12.
- Tell all drivers who transport your child that booster seat use is a must when your child is in their vehicle.
- A booster seat uses no harness. It uses the vehicle’s lap and shoulder belts only. Be sure the safety belt is properly buckled.
- Booster seats are not installed the same way car seats are. They sit on the vehicle seat and are used to properly position the adult safety belt for an older child. Always use a lap and shoulder belt with a booster seat.
- Never place the shoulder belt under the child's arm or behind the child's back.
- Be sure all occupants wear safety belts correctly every time. Children learn from adult role models.
- Get help with your child's booster seat by contacting a Safe Kids coalition near you.
Parents should use the Safety Belt Fit Test on every child under 13 you transport. All children under age 13 should ride properly restrained in a back seat.
Almost all cars and car seats made since September 2002 must have LATCH.
LATCH locks a car seat into the vehicle without using the safety belts. Older cars and car seats may not have LATCH.
Some booster seats are designed to use the lower anchors to connect to the vehicle. These seats should still be used with the lap and shoulder belts to hold the child.
Read your owner’s manual and car seat instructions to see if you can use LATCH.
LATCH and safety belts provide the same protection. Use one or other, not both.Safety In and Around Cars
Also visit Safety In and Around Cars.
Washington, DC 20004-1707 Phone: 202-662-0600 Fax: 202-393-2072 skbu@safekids.org 