By Mandy Bourgeois | Published Sunday, June 14, 2009
Beginning Sept. 1, children under the age of 8 or under 4-foot, 9-inches tall riding in a passenger car must be restrained in a safety seat system under a new state law.
The new law, which Gov. Rick Perry has said he will allow to pass without his signature, requires children who meet the law's requirements be in a safety seat, which includes traditional car seats and harnesses and booster seats. Children who are at or over 4-foot, 9-inches tall, regardless of age, do not have to be in a safety seat. Children that are 8 years old and older, regardless of height, are not required to be in a safety seat.
The law allows for a warning period, during which public safety officers will give verbal and written warning to drivers who do not follow the law. However, beginning June 1, 2010, officers will begin writing citations with fines of $25 for first offenders and $250 for the second and subsequent offenses.
The previous law required children younger than 5 and shorter than 36 inches to travel in safety seats.
For daycare centers and schools, such as Pettit Private School in Decatur, the law will impact the transport of children.
"It will definitely affect us. We're trying to decide if it would be better for us to purchase the booster seats," said Pettit Private School director Cheryl Turlington.
Turlington said that the new law has been a big discussion topic among the staff and parents at the school since its passage.
"A lot of the parents knew about it, and we've talked about it non-stop this week," she said. "(The response is) kind of mixed. Some of the parents have passed on their booster seats and they're having to purchase seats. It kind of places a hardship on them now."
Wal-Mart in Decatur currently has backless and backed booster seats ranging from $16 to $110 for children 30 to 100 pounds and 57-inches tall.
