New vehicle booster seat law for Virginia

Do you have children under the age of 8?

If so, you will want to be sure to put them in booster seats whenever you take them with you in your car. As of July 1, it is now a Virginia state law to have your child properly restrained in a booster seat until they are 8 years old.

The new Va law (Code of Virginia Article 13 - Section 46.2) requires that child safety seats must be properly

used and approved by Department of Transportation standards.

Also, all rear-facing child seats must be placed in the back seat of the vehicle. If the vehicle does not have a back seat, the booster seat may be placed in the front passenger seat as long as the airbag has been deactivated (assuming there is an airbag).

Children can no longer ride unrestrained in the rear cargo area of a vehicle. This applies to anyone who provides transportation for a child in any vehicle manufactured after January 1, 1968.

If your child is too tall or too heavy to fit into a booster seat, or if there is any other medical reason that makes a booster seat impractical AND if you can get a signed written statement by the child’s physician explaining the medical reasoning … then in that case you and your child will be exempt from the new law.

Also, school buses, taxis, public transportation vehicles, and farm vehicles are exempted from this law.

This new child restraint law is “primary enforcement” which means that no other violation needs to be committed prior to ticketing for failure to have a child in an approved seat. A violation results in a $50 civil penalty fine. All fines collected are to go into a special fund to purchase safety seats for low-income families.

Low income families who cannot afford a safety seat can contact the Virginia Department of Health, Division of Injury and Violence Prevention at 1-800-732-8333 for assistance.

See http://www.dmv.state.va.us/webdoc/general/news/news.asp?id=5034 and http://www.vahealth.org/cIVP/safetyseat/laws.asp

On a similar note, No one under the age of 16 is allowed to be transported in the rear cargo area of a pickup truck. (Code of Virginia Section 46.2 - 1094) There are exemptions for certain parades and farming operations.