Child seat questions

[josh0208]

We are renting a car while we are down there. I'm a bit confused about the child car seat laws in FL. We have 4 and 6 years old sons. I know the 6 year is fine with just the seat belt. My question is for the 4 yr old. Do I need to bring his booster seat with us? He's over 40 pounds. Here's what the FL website states:

All children 5 years of age or younger must be properly restrained 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 4 through 5 years, a separate carrier, an integrated child safety seat, or a safety belt may be used.

I'm assuming "properly restained" just means wearing a seat belt. For ages 4-5, a safety belt can be used. Do they just mean a seat belt that already in the car?

Can someone help me with this? Thanks.

Shirley

 

[gw_lit]

Do they just mean a seat belt that already in the car?

Can someone help me with this? Thanks.

Shirley

Yes, that's exactly what they mean.

 

[tm2924]

Fl law might say it is ok for your 6yo in the car without a booster seat but unless he is over 4' 9" he is not being protected. Don't rely on what is legal, it is simply wrong to allow a child under 4'9" to ride in a vehicle without a booster seat. The seatbelt just dosn't fit them correctly, giving you a false sense of security. The car rental company should be able to rent you a booster seat when you rent the car.

 

[Gillian]

If this helps, the last time we flew we checked our 5 year old's booster seat as luggage. I think it counted, but we didn't have 8 checked bags for the 4 of us anyway.