Seat Belts & Child Safety Seats

Child Passengers

A driver can be stopped and issued a citation when a law enforcement officer observes an unrestrained child riding in a vehicle. Violations of the Child Passenger Safety Act will cost you a $60 fine, plus court costs.

The Kansas Child Passenger Safety Act was amended during the 2006 Legislative Session to require children ages 4, 5, 6, and 7 to be in secured booster seats. For more information, visit the Give Your Child a Boost link.

To ensure your child is properly secured in his/her safety seat, you may make an appointment with a certified child safety seat technician. The Highway Patrol offers free safety seat check-ups and installations by certified technicians at each troop’s headquarters. Please call your nearest headquarters office to make an appointment.

The safest place for child passengers is in the back seat. Airbags may cause additional harm to a child’s small body, if the child is riding in the front seat.

Seat belts are made to fit adults and do not protect small children properly. Booster seats work by raising the child up so the lap and shoulder belts are positioned properly across the child’s chest and hips. Tucking the seat belt under the child’s arm or behind their back also may cause more serious injuries during a crash.

Booster seats reduce the risk of injury by 59%, compared to using only a seat belt.

Adult Passengers

Air bags, combined with lap and shoulder safety belts, offer the most effective safety protection available today for adult passengers. All front seat passengers of motor vehicles designed to carry 10 or less passengers must wear safety belts. This includes pickup trucks registered for 12,000 pounds and farm trucks registered for 16,000 pounds.

In June of 2010, enforcement of the adult safety belt law became a Primary law. The Kansas law enables police officers to stop and ticket the driver of any passenger vehicle if either the driver or front seat passenger is observed not wearing a seat belt. This law also applies to anyone under age 18. Passengers in the back seat may be cited only when there is another citable offense at the time.

Under Kansas law, all vehicle manufacturers are required to carry full warranties on safety belts for 10 years.

To read the Child Passenger Safety Act and Kansas statutes pertaining to seat belts, visit the Kansas Legislature’s website.