What are the car seat laws in Florida?

[Beth Cat]

We are going to Disney at the end of June. We are traveling with our 6 yr old and our 3 year old. We plan to rent a mini-van, as we are staying in DTD. From what I could gather, I don't think I need a seat for my 6 year old. Can our 3 yr old ride in a booster? (I am thinking of bringing one-- rather than including the seat in the rental, to save money).
Thanks,
Beth

[justhat]

I would stick with using whatever you use at home. Your kids will be familiar with the arrangement, plus you know that they're safe since they're the same seats you use at home. If you really don't want to use 2 seats or whatever you do at home, I'd go by weight/height more than age. How much does your 3yo weigh? If it's under 40 pounds then if it were me I'd take a carseat regardless of the FL law just for safety reasons. You'll be in the car a lot I would guess if you're planning to drive to the parks so based on that I'd disregard any looser laws and stick with what you're used to at home.

[Beth Cat]

Thanks. I just know that my husband does not want to bring along our seats. Our 3 year old is almost 40 pounds and will be 4, Aug 4. I know what you mean about going with safety.

[ash&abby'smom]

Here's what info I found:

Car Seat Program


Florida's Child Safety Belt Laws
All children under 6 years must be properly restrained while riding in any car, pickup truck, or van on Florida's roads, no matter where they are sitting in the vehicle.
Children through age 3 must be secured in a separate carrier or a vehicle manufacturer's integrated child safety seat.>
For children aged 3 through 5 years, a separate carrier, an integrated child safety seat, or a seat belt may be used.
Drivers are responsible for buckling up children.
The cost to a violator may be $84.00 and up and 3 points against their license.
This service is sponsored by DOT & DOH

[tjmw2727]

Here you go:
1)(a) Every operator of a motor vehicle as defined herein, while transporting a child in a motor vehicle operated on the roadways, streets, or highways of this state, shall, if the child is 5 years of age or younger, provide for protection of the child by properly using a crash-tested, federally approved child restraint device. For children aged through 3 years, such restraint device must be a separate carrier or a vehicle manufacturer's integrated child seat. For children aged 4 through 5 years, a separate carrier, an integrated child seat, or a seat belt may be used.

And the link to verify as well as to the other states in case anyone is interested:
http://www.inventiveparent.com/state-laws.htm

Looks to me like you will need a carseat for the 3yo rather than a booster seat.

HTH
TJ

[Beth Cat]

Thanks Sharon.
That is the info I found also. I was just having a hard time understanding what the seats looked like, as defined by the language. I was hoping to get a small booster that I could bring along, instead of a big seat.
Thanks for checking for me!

[Beth Cat]

tj,
Thank you for the link! I had never visited that site before.

[justhat]

I know what you mean about not wanting to lug around heavy seats. Did you want to buy a new booster for the trip or do you already have one? Here's the reason I ask-I'm pregnant and flew alone to WDW with my 2yo daughter last month and did not bring her carseat cause I didn't want to carry her heavy Britax seat on my back, but we took Magical Express and Disney buses, so we didn't need the seat for transportation once we arrived. We're going to the Dominican Republic Thursday though and again it looked like I would be flying alone with my 2yo (but luckily my husband was able to get on my flight) but with no Magical Express down there I knew we needed a seat for her so we looked into cheap, lightweight carseats that I could carry on my back while pregnant. I don't remember the names of them right now since we didn't end up buying one, but that might be a good alternative to bringing your heavy seats, but still using a regular carseat.

[Tiger926]

Also, to let you know, that car seats without harnesses are not FAA approved, and therefore can't be used on board. I mention this because I noticed justthat posted about cheap, lightweight car seats to carry on back and so I'm not sure if she is referring to regular car seats, or those travel ones that I've seen on the Net, but they aren't certified for use on board planes. They aren't certified for use where I live in Canada either - our laws are all kids from 40-80lbs, must be in a booster. We have harnessed boosters for kids who are almost 40lbs., because putting kids in regular car seat belts between 30 - 40lbs., is dangerous especially if they are smallish, as well as against the law in my country, yet it's mostly allowed in your country - this causes travellers so much confusion!

It's very confusing to see all of the different car seat laws between the different states and Canada, so make sure you really understand the Florida law for car seats while you are travelling down there. The most confusing part is the use of ages - ages have nothing to do with safety crash tests, plus, they still use old average age weights for these regulations, so for me as a parent travelling to Florida, I know that what I'm used to for car seat safety in my country is better than Florida law, so my daughter will be very safe while driving in her harnessed booster at age 3, but I can totally understand why people get confused by what car seats to bring - good luck and I hope you have a very safe trip.

Tiger

[vtstate]

My Daughter Is 3 Will Be 4 In June, We Are Traveling In May Do We Need A Car Seat On The Plane For Her? Also We Have Magical Express Busses Do We Need One On The Bus For Her? Please Help.

[justhat]

Vtstate, you can't use carseats on the Magical Express buses because there are no seatbelts and given your daughter's age (and guessing what her size would be) I'd skip the carseat on the plane too. My daughter is 2 and around 35 inches and sitting in the carseat doesn't give her much leg room, so I imagine that in 2 years there simply wouldn't be much room for her to sit in a carseat on a plane, unless we had a bulkhead seat. The FAA does recommend their use up to 40 pounds though. But since you don't need one for the bus and since your daughter is almost 4 I'd leave it home.

Tiger926, yes I mean regular carseats. The ones we looked at were Graco, Cosco, and Evenflo, but I don't remember the specific names or model numbers. We just went to the store and lifted each one to find some that were very lightweight so they wouldn't be a huge strain on my back.

[Tiger926]

Thanks for clarifying justthat - We just did the same thing as well as some car seats are so heavy and cumbersome. I wasn't sure if you had found some cool new lightweight car seat that would be FAA approved and I'd be all over that!

Our daughter is 38", 35lbs., and will be 3 next month (we go in July) and we are still bringing our car seat. We kind of have no choice to use on plane, as we don't want to gate check it, but we need it for our rental car. We'll see how it goes as my daughter usually likes to sit on our laps and watch her Disney DVDs on the laptop.

Safe travelling to all, Tiger

[Our2Girls&Disney]

I know what you mean about being concerned about bringing too much stuff, but the car seats were really easy. I just checked them with baggage. I brought a regular car seat for my 2 year old and a booster for my 5 year old. I just wrapped luggage tags with our name & address around the strap. When we picked up luggage I put all the bags and car seats inside the stroller and let the kids walk while we went to car rental. No worries, it is not difficult. You don't want to jepordize the safety of your children, bring them along, you will feel better knowing that they are safe.

[robinb]

My Daughter Is 3 Will Be 4 In June, We Are Traveling In May Do We Need A Car Seat On The Plane For Her? Also We Have Magical Express Busses Do We Need One On The Bus For Her? Please Help.

No, you don't need a car seat for either one. And ... I wouldn't recommend one for the plane ride. A car seat gives pre-schoolers too much of a boost closer to the seat in front of them so their feet reach if they kick. Also, it makes it hard to pull down the tray table.

Are you taking Magical Express or are you renting a car?

[jessica52877]

I would never take my child on a flight not in a carseat. If they have to be in them in a car then I have never understood why they don't need them in the air. Since a ticket has to be bought, I figure then the whole seat will be used well.

I would bring the car seat for the younger one, skipping it for the older. Even if it is heavy to lug through the airport, safety is so worth it! I have lugged ours several times with never a regret!

[marlynnp]

the main reason they are not necessary on the plane is that you only have a lap belt. A 'booster' seat is used in a car to align the shoulder harness properly ~ a moot point on a plane.

[Tiger926]

Which brings up a good point - why only lap belts on planes? Why no seatbelts on school buses? Our governments (Canada & US) have some work to do here regarding child safety!

Tiger

[jessica52877]

the main reason they are not necessary on the plane is that you only have a lap belt. A 'booster' seat is used in a car to align the shoulder harness properly ~ a moot point on a plane.

I understand the booster seat part of it, but I mean a car seat. I honestly don't care for boosters much. It gives kids too much freedom to wiggle and put the belt behind them at still such a young age. I was referring to a regular car seat with straps, I don't consider booster seats car seats, just boosters.

[disneyfan'ole]

We live in Florida and my DD4 uses a high back booster. She could use a regular booster as long as the shoulder harness fits correctly. If you are renting a car you could always rent a booster through the rental car agency and not have to worry about bringing one or buy a regular booster do not attach the sides and pack it in your luggage. They are lightweight and pretty inexpensive at walmart, etc.

[katyjeka]

We got prices from both Budget and Enterprise, and when we asked about renting car seats we were a little surprised by the price. We need the car for 2 weeks, although, based on previous stays, I doubt that we'll actually use it for more than a few days.(DH just cant "relax" unless we have a car occupying parking space!!LOL)We have 3 DD's, two of which still use carseats. We ARE paying the price and renting the seats, I just can't imagine taking them in a car anywhere not properly secured, even on vacation! I guess my point is accidents can happen anytime, and you will be driving on unfamiliar roads, with a bunch of other people in the same position, better safe than sorry. Our kids are worth the $150.00 we're paying for the seats, just our opinion!! Have a great vacation. Janice

[robinb]

We got prices from both Budget and Enterprise, and when we asked about renting car seats we were a little surprised by the price.
{snip}
Our kids are worth the $150.00 we're paying for the seats, just our opinion!! Have a great vacation. Janice

Wow! I would really recommend that you purchase two of the lightest weight car seats you can for your trip and bring them with you instead. I've heard the rental seats are yucky. I used to carry my car seat through the airport on a traditional metal collapsible luggage cart. You could probably easily nest both seats (one upside down on the other) on a luggage cart. OR ... you can rent a seat for a day, go to Wal*Mart or Target and but a pair of cheap seats once you get there. Then, arrange to return the seats to a different location. OR ... if you are going right to a WDW resort, take Magical Express and rent from Enterprise and have them deliver your car to you at your resort. You'll save on extra airport charges. Then, go out and buy car seats when you do your grocery stop.

[tjmw2727]

I agree with the pp, Robin, about renting carseats from the car rental agencies. We did it once and used the seat only long enough to go to wallmart and buy a suitable carseat for my dd. It was dirty, the fabric was worn and a very old model. We bought a lower priced, lightweight carseat that got used during that trip and lots after for nana's, auntie's and other trips.

Like Justthat mentioned, there are several great, lightweight and affordable carseats that would cost less than the $150.00 rental price and give you peace of mind. Just make sure they meet the height and weigh requirements you need or even better convert to a booster for use later when the kids are older.

Or if you don't have the huge britax type seats, consider just bringing them with you, BRU has a great carseat bag that can be worn as a backpack or rolled behind you. This way you save $ and can be sure the seats are in good condition and safe.

Another note, if you do rent the carseats be sure and check the installation or re-install them yourself. Many of those working at the rental agencies don't understand how to install them properly.

As far as some of the other questions popping up:

You can't use a carseat on ME or Disney Transportation

You are not required to use a carseat on the airplane but the FAA and AAP
recommend you do for children up to age 4 and 40" lbs.

If you want to use a carseat and are worried about seat kicking book the seat in front of the child for a family member and take off the childs shoes. (DH usually gets that seat!!) Make sure the carseat has a sticker indicating it is approved for use in aircraft.

Booster seats, (without an integrated harness) are not allowed to be used on the aircraft.

FL law says children through age three need a carseat, 4 and up are legal in a seatbelt.

Hope this helps
TJ