CHAPTER 254
FORMERLY
SENATE SUBSTITUTE NO. 1
FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 130
AS AMENDED BY HOUSE AMENDMENT NO. 2 AND
SENATE AMENDMENT NO. 1
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CHILD RESTRAINT IN MOTOR VEHICLES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE (Two-thirds of all members elected to each house thereof concurring therein):
Section 1. Amend §4803 Title 21 of the Delaware Code by deleting the current subsection (a) and inserting in lieu thereof a new subsection (a) and inserting in lieu thereof a new subsection (a) to read as follows:
"(a) Every person shall be responsible, when transporting a child through the age of 6 and weighing less than 60 lbs. in a motor vehicle operated on the roadways, streets, or highways of this State, for providing protection of the child by properly securing the child in all seating positions, according to manufacturer's instruction, in a child safety seat or booster seat, meeting federal motor vehicle safety standards, that is appropriate for the child's weight and height. Every child who has either attained the age of 7 or a weight of 60 lbs. and has not yet attained the age of 16 shall, in all seating positions, wear a properly secured seatbelt while in a motor vehicle operated on the roadways, streets, or highways of this state. The duty imposed by this subsection shall not apply to any operator or passenger of a motor bus, limousine, or taxicab as defined in §1801 of Title 2."
Section 2. Amend §4803(b) Title 21 of the Delaware Code by deleting said subsection in its entirety and redesigning current subsections (c), (d), (e) and (f) as subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) respectively.
Section 3. Amend §4803 Title 21 of the Delaware Code by adding a new subsection (f) to read as follows:
"(f) Following the passage of this Act and prior to its effective date, the Department of Public Safety shall implement an awareness campaign to educate motorists about the components of the law and to encourage the public to correctly and consistently uses child safety seats, booster seats and seatbelts."
Section 4. This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2003.
Section 5. The provisions of this Act requiring children between the ages of 4 and 7 and under 60 pounds in weight to be secured in a child safety seat or booster seat shall not be effective for those children who became 4 years of age before the Act’s enactment into law. Those children shall be required to wear a properly secured seatbelt while in a motor vehicle operated on the roadways, streets or highways of this State.