Monday, January 05, 2015

That's Going To Be Quite The Annoyance For Michigan's 8-Year-Olds


Michigan is about to pass a law changing the rules for car seat and booster seat usage.

As it currently stands, kids must be in a booster seat until age 8 or they reach 4"9 in height.

The proposed law as written changes it to 57 inches tall or less than 10 years of age which means 8 and 9 year-olds must be in a booster seat.

Considering Leah is 8 and just got out of having to be in a booster seat, having to go back to using it for a couple more years will not be pleasing.

Funnily enough, while the bill proclaims it is being done for the safety of the children, it makes it only a secondary offense to fail to have them in such a seat or if up to 16 years old, wearing a seat-belt.  As such, you can't be pulled over and given a ticket for solely not obeying this proposed law, but it can be added on to other driving offenses.  One would think if it is for safety -- of children no less -- that they would make it a primary offense.

The bill also does something that's rather rare -  in Sec 710d.(15) it painstakingly  points out that the intent of the law is not to harass motorists. Harassing 8-year-olds and their parents who will have to force them back into booster seats, not so much.

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