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New child safety seat law

Wisconsin has recently issued a new child safety seat law that goes into effect June 1st, 2006.

There will be a 6-month grace period in which written warnings may be issued for any child passenger violations (under Wisconsin Statute 347.48(4) ). The grace period ends December 31st, 2006.

Citations may be issued starting in January of 2007

Second and subsequent violations during the grace period are citable.

In basic terms:

• Children must be in a car seat until they reach age 4 and in a booster seat until they reach age 8
• Tiered structure now applies:
  • Less than 1 year old, or less than 20 lbs. must be in a rear-facing child seat in the back seat (if so equipped)
  • Age 1 to age 4, or less than 40 lbs. must be in a forward-facing child seat in the back seat (if so equipped)
  • Age 4 to age 8, between 40-80 lbs., and no more than 4 ft. 9 ins. must be in a booster seat
• The fines remain the same, although tiered for ages 0-4 and ages 4-8
• The exemption allowing temporary removal of a child from a restraint to attend to personal needs has been removed
• The exemption for physical, medical, or body size condition still applies to booster seats and seat belts

New child safety seat law fact sheet

Specific questions about child seats/booster seats should be directed to:
WINS (Wisconsin Information Network for Safety)
(1-866) 511-9467
wins9467@sbcglobal.net

Or booster seats can be addressed at www.BoosterSeat.gov

All external hyperlinks are provided for your information and for the benefit of the general public. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation does not testify to, sponsor or endorse the accuracy of the information provided on externally linked pages.

You will need the Adobe Reader (provided free of charge) to view PDF files. For more information about getting your free copy of the Adobe Reader, visit WisDOT's Software information page.

Questions about the content of this page:
Wisconsin Information Network for Safety, wins9467@sbcglobal.net, 1-866-511-WINS (9467)
Last modified: June 2, 2006