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Texas has some of the strictest seat belt laws in the country. The driver and all passengers in a vehicle, including children, are required to buckle up and failure to do so can lead to harsh penalties. In this article, we summarize the most important Texas child seat belt laws and regulations.
What Is Texas’ Seat Belt Law?
Texas seat belt safety law is described in Texas Transportation Code Chapter 545. The law requires everyone in a vehicle, regardless of where they are sitting, to wear a seat belt correctly. This means that the shoulder strap should lie across the middle of your chest and shoulder, while the lap belt is across your upper thighs.
Some people are exempt from wearing a seat belt in Texas, including:
- Back seat passengers in vehicles that have no safety belts installed in back seats.
- People who are not able to use a safety belt due to medical reasons and who have a certificate from a licensed physician to attest to their medical condition.
- People operating commercial farm vehicles under 48,000 pounds.
- USPS, utility, and newspaper delivery workers who must enter and leave the vehicle frequently.
Texas child seat belt law
The Texas seat belt law requires that all children under the age of 17 are secured with an appropriate child restraint system that meets federal standards. This can be either a rear-facing or front-facing car seat, booster seat, or a regular safety belt, depending on the child’s age and size.
In Texas, children have to ride in a car seat or booster seat until they are 8 years old or are taller than 4 feet 9 inches and can wear a seat belt.
When Can a Child Legally Sit In the Front Seat in Texas?
The safest place for children to ride in a vehicle is the back seat, which minimizes the risk of injury by the frontal airbag. Under Texas law, children must be securely fastened in an appropriate safety seat in the back of the vehicle until they reach the age of 13. Children over the age of 13 are allowed to sit in the front passenger seat.
Texas Rear-Facing Car Seat Law
Texas seat belt law does not specify how long children must be riding in a rear-facing car seat. Drivers are advised to follow the guidelines by the manufacturer of the specific car seat they are using for the child.
Infants and toddlers should ride in a rear-facing car seat until they are two years old or until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by the car seat manufacturer.
Children over the age of two who have outgrown the rear-facing weight or height limit required for a car seat should use a forward-facing seat.
Some car seat manufacturers allow children to forward face already from the age of one as long as they weigh at least 22 pounds, whereas others require children to be at least two years old to forward face.
Texas Booster Seat Law
Once children outgrow their forward-facing seats, usually around the age of four, they should ride in booster seats until the vehicle seat belt fits properly. Children must weigh a minimum of 40 pounds or more to use a booster seat. What’s more, they have to use both a shoulder and a lap belt at all times to ensure their safety.
The 5-Step Booster Test
To determine whether your child is ready to ride without a booster seat, you can do the 5-step booster test. The test consists of the following questions:
- Is your child’s lower back against the vehicle seat, with no gap in between?
- Do your child’s knees bend comfortably at the edge of the seat, with their feet flat on the floor?
- Does the lap belt lie low on your child’s hips, at the top of the thighs?
- Is the shoulder belt between your child’s neck and shoulders?
- Can your child sit properly without slouching or playing with the seat belt during the entire ride?
If you answered yes to all of the questions above, your child is ready to ride using just a seat belt.
Guidance on Choosing a Car Seat
Your car seat manufacturer’s instructions will indicate what car seat you should use depending on the age, height, and weight of your child, as well as how to correctly place the car seat. The manufacturer may also have other recommendations that you should follow.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) offers comprehensive guidance on how to choose and install child car seats.
In addition, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) offers free car seat checks at its offices across the state. You can find your nearest location through the Save Me With a Seat website.
Penalties for Not Properly Buckling a Child
Breaking seat belt rules in Texas is considered a primary offense. In other words, if a police officer stops you and you or the passengers don’t have your safety belt on, you can get a citation even if you haven’t committed any other traffic violations.
In Texas, the seat belt ticket cost ranges from $25 to $50. However, the fines for offenses including child safety law violations are much higher.
Failure to properly restrain your child can result in a ticket of up to $250 plus additional court costs depending on the county you live in. The judge may also order you to complete a four-hour driving safety course that will incur additional costs.
Operating an open-bed of a pickup truck with a child under the age of 18 is also considered a violation of Texas safety seat laws and entails fines of between $25 and $200 plus court fees.
Note that failing to comply with the seat belt law in Texas is a non-moving violation. This means that if you get a safety belt ticket, you won’t be assigned any demerit points to your driving DPS record. Besides, a seat belt citation won’t influence your car insurance rates.
