To comply with Wisconsin Act 106, pay close attention to the following four-step progression for child safety protection in vehicles:

1. A rear-facing child safety seat in the back seat* is required when the child is less than 1-year-old or weighs less than 20 pounds.

2. A forward-facing child safety seat in the back seat* is required when the child is at least 1-year-old but less than 4-years-old or weighs at least 20 pounds but less than 40 pounds.

3. Booster seat is required when the child is at least 4-years-old but less than 8-years-old, weighs at least 40 but less than 80 pounds and is not 57 inches or taller.

4. Safety belt is required when the child is 8-years-old or older, or weighs 80 pounds or is 57-inches or taller.

*Child safety seat must be in the back seat if the vehicle is equipped with a back seat.

Exemptions:

Children whose body-size, physical condition or medical condition makes safety retraints unreasonable are still exempt from the booster seat and safety belt laws.

There no longer is a "personal needs" exemption allowing the child to be removed from a safety restraint to attend to the child's personal needs, such as feeding or diapering, while the vehicle is moving.

Changes to the mandatory safety belt law:

Under the new law, drivers may be cited for allowing passengers of any age to be unbelted in their vehicle (The new law removes a previous provision in the mandatory safety belt law that did not make the driver responsible for unbelted passengers age 16 or older.)

For more information or answers to questions: Contact the Wisconsin Information Network for Safety at its toll-free number 1-866-511-9467 or Web site www.BoosterSeat.gov

Resource: Community Coordinated Child Care, Inc.; 4-C Focus, Spring, 2006