According to a report prepared by the University of Oklahoma for the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office (OHSO), 86.3 percent of children age 6 and under were properly secured in child restraint systems in 2009. Parents and other caregivers correctly restrained 74.6 percent of infants up to age 1 and 87.9 percent of kids between ages 1 and 6. Occupant restraint laws governing minors in Oklahoma vary with the age of the child.
Oklahoma law mandates parents and others to secure all children under age 6 in a child passenger restraint system when traveling in a motor vehicle on the roads, streets and highways of the state. Oklahoma permits children who are at least age 6, but less than age 13 to ride in either a child passenger restraint system or adult safety belt. The law defers to federal code in terms of what is considered a suitable application. Oklahoma's separate mandatory seat belt law states that all front seat occupants of a motor vehicle must secure themselves with a seat belt. This law covers minors between the ages of 13 and 17.
Oklahoma allows children who weigh more than 40 pounds to be restrained with a lap belt if they are riding in a motor vehicle not equipped with a shoulder/lap belt combination or if all such devices are being used by other children over 40 pounds. Oklahoma's child passenger restraint laws do not apply to school buses, taxicabs, mopeds, motorcycles, other vehicles not required by federal law to have safety belts, ambulances and emergency vehicles, vehicles in which all seats belts are in use and children with medical reasons for not being restrained.
A $50 fine plus court costs is the penalty for violating Oklahoma's child passenger restraint laws. The fine is suspended, and court costs capped at $15, if the defendant provides proof of purchase of an appropriate child restraint system. Oklahoma law notes that an officer may stop a vehicle and give an oral warning to a driver instructing them on the dangers associated with unrestrained youth motor vehicle passengers.
Though not outlined in state law, OHSO advises parents and caregivers on age-appropriate child restraint systems. OHSO points out that infants should ride in a rear-facing infant or convertible car seat until they are at least 1 year old and a minimum of 20 pounds. Toddlers should occupy a forward-facing car or convertible seat from the time they are at least 1 and 20 lbs. until around the time they turn age 4 and weigh 40 pounds. Generally, booster seats are used between the ages of 4 and 8 and weights between 40 and 80 pounds. OHSO advises consulting manufacturer instructions for specifics. Adult safety belts, on their own, should only be used when a child reaches 4-foot-9-inches tall and is about 70 to 80 lbs., according to OHSO.
