APD Officers Will Focus Traffic Enforcement and Education on Child Safety Restraint Laws This Week

A baby sleeping in their car seat. – Courtesy photo

Arcadia Police Officers will be joining in a Special Enforcement Week with other Los Angeles County police agencies and Safety Belt Safe USA focusing on child safety restraint laws. Safety Belt Safe USA is a non-profit solely devoted to child passenger safety.
Based on data from the California Highway Patrol, more than 80 percent of the children less than four years of age killed in traffic collisions since 1990 died in survivable crashes.  In other words, had these children been properly buckled up they would have survived.

Although the Arcadia Police Department (APD) takes these laws seriously year round, APD will be focusing on child safety restraint laws through Saturday, March 30, 2019. APD officers will be looking for violations and making enforcement stops. In addition to child safety restraint laws, APD will be enforcing adult safety restraint laws as well.
The current California law is as follows:

• Children under 2 years of age shall ride in a rear-facing car seat unless the child weighs 40 or more pounds or is 40 or more inches tall. The child shall be secured in a manner that complies with the height and weight limits specified by the manufacturer of the car seat (California Vehicle Code Section 273600).
• ​Children under the age of eight must be secured in a car seat or booster seat in the back seat.
• Children who are eight years of age or have reached 4’9” in height may be secured by a booster seat, but at a minimum must be secured by a safety belt (California Vehicle Code Section 27363).
• Passengers who are 16 years of age and over are subject to California’s Mandatory Seat Belt law.

Additional information about Safety Belt Safe USA can be found at carseat.org.

Remember that wearing your seat belt, and ensuring your children are properly secured in a car seat, could save a life.

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