Florida child carseat laws?

[matosfam]

I have been looking around and I am very confused about child carseat laws in Florida...
I will have children aged 4 and 7 (both 35-40lbs -ish) when we go to WDW in June and I want to be sure we are obeying the state laws.

Thanks!

[Hannathy]

Only children thru the age of 3 MUST be in a car seat. I'm only the messenger so please don't start with the accusations..........
What you want to do is your choice but neither of your children need a car seat to legally ride in a car in Florida, they must have their seat belt on.

http://sheriff.org/safety/carseat.cfm

I don't think this has changed for 2010

[IggyLans]

Um... they need a booster seat... quote:

"Florida law requires children under 5 years of age to be properly restrained no matter where they are seated in the vehicle. Children through age 3 must be secured in a separate carrier (child safety seat) or in a vehicle manufacturer's integrated child safety seat. For children ages 4 - 5, a separate carrier, an integrated child safety seat, or a safety belt may be used. If a safety belt does not fit the child correctly, a booster set should be used to correctly position the lap and shoulder belts once they outgrow forward facing child safety seats (generally at about 40 pounds and 4 years old). Children from approximately 40-80 pounds and under 4'9" in height should ride in a booster seat."

[matosfam]

Thank you both for your replies. I appreciate it!

I think I see what the PP means though. There does seem to be an intentional "gray area" left by the law when it states that 3 and under must be in a carseat but 40-80 lbs should be in a booster....

We are in PA where all kids must be in a booster until age 8 so I guess we will probably just pack 'em...

[Alesia]

Originally Posted by IggyLans

Um... they need a booster seat... quote:

"Florida law requires children under 5 years of age to be properly restrained no matter where they are seated in the vehicle. Children through age 3 must be secured in a separate carrier (child safety seat) or in a vehicle manufacturer's integrated child safety seat. For children ages 4 - 5, a separate carrier, an integrated child safety seat, or a safety belt may be used. If a safety belt does not fit the child correctly, a booster set should be used to correctly position the lap and shoulder belts once they outgrow forward facing child safety seats (generally at about 40 pounds and 4 years old). Children from approximately 40-80 pounds and under 4'9" in height should ride in a booster seat."

They should be, but they are not legally required to be.

[Brian Noble]

Florida law is among the most lax in the US in terms of car seats. Here's a short, crisp summary of the legal requirements:

http://www.dmvflorida.org/seat-belt-laws.shtml

Most parents will probably be more conservative than this, but I confess that I allowed my seven year old, 4' 7" son to ride in the back seat with only a lap/shoulder belt and no booster. Yet another entry in my long list of parenting failures, but perfectly legal in Florida.

[momhmmx2]

This topic comes up often and it drives me CRAZY

Why would you provide the safety your child needs at home and not when on vacation?

I work in a Pediatric I.C.U. and have seen the effects of seatbelt injuries that could have been prevented by a booster seat.

So please, please please protect your child.

Thanks!

[bumbershoot]

Originally Posted by momhmmx2

This topic comes up often and it drives me CRAZY

Why would you provide the safety your child needs at home and not when on vacation?

I work in a Pediatric I.C.U. and have seen the effects of seatbelt injuries that could have been prevented by a booster seat.

So please, please please protect your child.

Thanks!

FWIW, in this particular case, the OP was trying to make sure she was following the laws, thinking that maybe FL was more strict than her home state.

[busyshrew]

We are planning to bring our child's booster - does anyone know if you can gate-check a booster seat? It is not a big one, it's a lap type.

TIA.

[syudelson]

Yes you can gate check any car seat.

[crashbb]

Originally Posted by busyshrew

We are planning to bring our child's booster - does anyone know if you can gate-check a booster seat? It is not a big one, it's a lap type.

TIA.

Which airline?

[busyshrew]

We're going JetBlue out of BUF. DH and I will each be carrying on a bag, but are hoping to use our DD's carry on capacity to gate-check the booster seat.

[ajkmom3]

I had the same questions as well. We will be flying Airtran in February and the e-mail I received back from Airtran said there are no fees for car/booster seats or strollers.

[skelooch]

I am very much in favor of children being in car seats or using seat belts at a minimum in any type of vehicle. But it always amazes me that when riding on Disney Transportation nobody seems to care. There are no restraints of any kind on any forms of Disney Transportation, and often you will see children standing while riding on buses, boats or the monorail.
Why is it any less important while at Disney.

[Alesia]

Originally Posted by skelooch

I am very much in favor of children being in car seats or using seat belts at a minimum in any type of vehicle. But it always amazes me that when riding on Disney Transportation nobody seems to care. There are no restraints of any kind on any forms of Disney Transportation, and often you will see children standing while riding on buses, boats or the monorail.
Why is it any less important while at Disney.

It's not that it's less important at Disney, it that it's less important on buses. For a number of reasons, unrestrained people on buses are much less likely to be injured than restrained people in cars.