*2003 Updates*
Effective
Public Act #83-8, The Child
Passenger Protection Act, has been in effect in
§
Children under
the age of eight years must be secured in an appropriate child restraint
system; more commonly called a child safety seat. Child safety seats include infant seats,
convertible seats (rear-facing for infants and forward-facing for toddlers) and
booster seats that are used with the vehicle lap and shoulder belt system.
§
Children
weighting more than 40 pounds may be transported in the back seat of a motor
vehicle while wearing only a lap bet if the back seat is not equipped with a
lap and shoulder belt system for booster seat installation.
§
Children and
young people eight and up to 16 years of age must be secured in either a
child safety seat or seat belt in any position in the vehicle.
§
The parent or
legal guardian of a child under the age of eight years is responsible
for providing a child safety seat to anyone who transports his or her child.
§
Every person under
the age of 18 years who transports a child eight years of age or older
(up to 18 years) is responsible for securing that child in a properly
adjusted and fastened safety belt or child safety seat.
Those found in violation of
the law the first time will be fined $50, which is waived upon
proof of possession of an approved safety seat.
Subsequent violations are punishable by a $100 fine.
Children with physical
disabilities that prevent the use of standard safety seats are exempt from the
provision of the law if the disability is duly certified by a physician.
This information summary is
provided by the Illinois Department of Transportation, Division of Traffic
Safety, located at
Comments: Webmaster - EOE - Privacy Policy - March 24, 2009