ILLINOIS VALLEY FIRE DISTRICT

• Infants must ride rear facing until they are one year old AND 20 pounds.
• Children 40 pounds and under must be restrained in approved child safety seats.
• Children over 40 pounds must use a booster seat until they are eight years old OR 4'9" in height.
• Children who are at least eight years old OR 4'9" in height must be properly secured with the vehicle's safety belt. The child is properly secured if the lap belt is positioned low across the thighs and the shoulder belt is positioned over the collarbone and away from the neck.
• Penalties: Failure to properly use safety belts or child restraints is a Class D traffic violation with a $142.00 fine—ORS 811.210 and ORS 815.055.

Infants must ride rear facing until they are 1 year old AND 20 pounds.

Children 40 pounds & under must be restrained in approved child safety seats. When they have outgrown the rear-facing seat, they should use a forward-facing seat with a full harness.

Children over 40-lbs. must use a booster seat until they are 8 years old OR 4'9" in height.

• Make sure you do not pre-crash lock the seatbelt to use with a booster.  
• The seatbelt should be in it's normal position with the Emergency Locking feature.
• Your child should be mentally capable of sitting correctly in a booster for the whole trip. No slouching or turning sideways in the seat!  Also, your child needs to keep the seatbelt where it is meant to be, over the thighs and across the collarbone.  Not behind their head.
• The booster seat requirement does not apply when the rear seat of the vehicle is equipped only with lap belts, provided the child is secured by the lap belt.

More information about booster seats:

• Video about Booster Seats from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. 
• Booster Seat Model Ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. 

Children who are at least 8 years old OR 4'9" in height, must be properly secured with the vehicle's adult safety belt. Children usually do not fit into an adult safety belt until they are 4’9”. If an adult safety belt does not fit properly, children should continue to use booster seats, even if they are older than age 8. 

A child is properly secured in an adult safety belt when:

• The child can sit all the way back against the seat of the vehicle with knees bent comfortably over the edge of the vehicle’s seat.
• The lap belt fits low, across the thighs — never across the stomach.
• The shoulder belt fits flat across the collarbone and crosses the child’s chest. The shoulder belt should never be across the neck.
• The child can sit like this for the whole trip. 

• Keeping children safe in crashes: choosing the right type of restraint, from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
• Car Safety Seats: Information for Families for 2010, from the American Academy of Pediatrics
• Child Safety Seat Resource Center 

IVFD held a car seat clinic at the Illinois Valley Children's Fair and Pet Parade. We also gave tours of our fire safety house -- teaching kids about fire safety in the home.