TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles says children ages 4 and 5 will soon be required to sit in a child safety seat or booster seat rather than only using a seatbelt.
The change becomes effective on Jan. 1.
Executive Director Terry Rhodes says that while seat belts save lives, booster seats elevate children to the height at which safety belts will properly secure them. After age 5, children are ready to wear seatbelts with a booster seat if they are at least 4-foot-9 and can sit all the way back and bend their knees at the edge of the seat.
In 2013, five children were killed as a result of improper or no child restraint use.
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