Chris Hammons | December 18, 2024 | Personal Injury
If you want to drive with a child inside your car in Oklahoma, you need to obey all Oklahoma child safety laws. These laws are designed to protect your child from injury if you are unfortunate enough to be involved in a car accident while they are in the car.
If you aren’t familiar with child passenger laws in Oklahoma, don’t worry. The following information will bring you up to speed.
Seat Belts
According to Oklahoma law, seat belts are mandatory for anyone in the front seat of a moving vehicle, child or adult. This law is so strict that drivers can be pulled over for no reason other than the fact that they aren’t wearing a seat belt.
Does this law affect children? It might. Children often ride in the back seat where seat belts aren’t mandatory. However, if you want to avoid child injury, you should require your child to be buckled in wherever they are sitting.
Car Seat Laws
Oklahoma car seat laws are based on the age of the child riding in the car. If your child is under two years old, they must be properly secured in a rear-facing child seat that is designed for a child of their age. Between the ages of two and four, the child must still be in a child seat, but it no longer has to be a rear-facing seat.
Once a child reaches four years old, they may sit in either a car seat or a booster seat. This rule lasts until they turn eight years old or reach a height taller than 4′9″. Whether you use a car seat or a booster seat is up to you. It is probably best to discuss options with your pediatrician and use whichever is safer given the height and weight of your child.
After a child is over eight years old or has reached the height limit, the laws no longer dictate what they need to do unless they are sitting in the front seat. Regardless, Oklahoma recommends that all children wear a seat belt and travel in the back seat, where they will be safer.
Why Child Safety Laws In Oklahoma Matter
The most obvious reason why child safety laws matter is because you want to protect your child from harm. While you will probably drive as safely as possible while your child is in the car, you can’t prevent someone else’s negligence from causing an accident.
Unfortunately, if a child is not appropriately protected by a child seat, booster, or seat belt, they are likely to get seriously injured or die in a wreck. That is the kind of risk no parent would ever want to take with their children.
Your child’s health isn’t the only thing you are risking when you don’t follow Oklahoma child safety laws. You are also putting your financial health at risk. If you aren’t following the law at the time of an accident, you might have difficulty getting compensation to pay for any medical bills your child incurs.
Oklahoma uses modified comparative negligence rules to determine how much money you can get from a responsible party after a car accident. If you are partially responsible, you will receive less compensation. Furthermore, if you are more than 50% responsible, you won’t get any money. By not following Oklahoma laws, you might be found to be more than 50% responsible.
Protect Your Child By Following Oklahoma Safety Laws
Child safety laws in Oklahoma are relatively straightforward. You should regularly purchase a new child or booster seat as your child ages. That way, you will be complying with the laws and keeping your child safe.
For more information, please contact an experienced car accident lawyer at Laird Hammons Laird Personal Injury Lawyers to schedule a free initial consultation today. Our law office is located in Oklahoma City.
We proudly serve Oklahoma County, OK and its surrounding areas:
Laird Hammons Laird Personal Injury Lawyers – OKC
1332 SW 89th St,
Oklahoma City, OK 73159
(405) 497-0480
