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Your Children Depend on You.

Learn how to protect them with the appropriate restraints, properly installed.

Buckle Up. Arrive Alive DE

Secure the kids

Secure your most precious cargo.

Discover a woman devoted to keeping kids safe in the car.

Aubrey Klick, Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician, Delaware Office of Highway Safety

KNOW THE RESTRAINT LAWS

Delaware’s restraint laws work to ensure the safety of child passengers.

  • UP TO 8 YEARS OLD (OR 65 LBS).

    Must be properly restrained in a federally approved child safety seat appropriate for the child’s age, weight and height.

  • 8 TO 15 YEARS.

    Must wear seat belts.

  • UNDER 12 YEARS (OR 65 INCHES IN HEIGHT).

    Required to sit in the back seat if there are active airbags in the front passenger seating position.

  • THE PENALTY.

    $25 for each child not appropriately restrained.

FOLLOW THESE SAFETY TIPS

Here are more things you can do to protect your young passengers.

  • Choose the middle.

    The center of the back seat is the safest spot for your child.

  • Beware of airbags.

    Never place a rear-facing car seat in front of an airbag. Airbags can kill young children riding in the front seat.

  • Set the example.

    Always wear your seat belt.

  • No negotiations.

    Don’t drive until the kids are buckled up – no matter how much they complain.

  • No exceptions.

    Use proper restraints every time, no matter how short the drive is.

Car seat safety

Keep kids safe with the right seat at the right stage.

The appropriate car seat changes as your child grows in age, height and weight. Here is a guide to the four stages of child passenger safety, and the progression of safety restraints you’ll eventually need.

Outline of infant

Infants

(Birth to 12 months)

Ride in the back seat in a rear-facing infant or convertible seat.

Outline of toddler

Toddlers

(1 to 3 years)

Ride in the back seat in a rear-facing car seat (or convertible seat) until reaching the height or weight limits for that seat, then move on to a forward-facing seat.

Outline of young kid

Young Kids

(4 to 7 years)

Ride in the back seat in a forward-facing car seat with a harness until reaching the height or weight limits for that seat, then move on to a booster seat.

Outline of adolescent

Older Kids

(8 to 12 years)

Ride in the back seat, secured by both lap and shoulder belts when riding in a booster seat, or when they have progressed to using the seat belt alone.

Four types of safety restraints

Illustrated back-facing car seat

Rear-facing car seat

For infants / toddlers

Illustrated forward-facing car seat

Forward-facing car seat

For toddlers/young kids

Illustrated forward-facing booster seat

Booster seat

For young kids/older kids

Illustration of seat belt

Seat belts

For older kids

Download brochure

Vehicles and heatstroke: Do you know the facts?

In the past 20 years, more than 800 children have died in hot vehicles in the U.S. – often, tragically, because the driver simply forgot they were there, or left them alone in the vehicle “for just a moment.”

  • QUESTION 1 / 5

    In just 10 minutes, a car’s temperature can rise over 20 degrees.

    Your choice is

    It takes very little time to raise your car’s temperature to dangerous levels.

  • QUESTION 2 / 5

    Heatstroke can’t happen on cloudy days or when outside temperatures are below 70 degrees.

    Your choice is

    Even at an outside temperature of 60 degrees, the temperature inside your car can reach 110 degrees.

  • QUESTION 3 / 5

    Opening windows will prevent heatstroke.

    Your choice is

    Opening windows will not prevent heatstroke.

  • QUESTION 4 / 5

    Children overheat up to five times faster than adults.

    Your choice is

    Children are much more sensitive to heat than adults.

  • QUESTION 5 / 5

    It’s OK to leave your child unattended in the car if it’s only for a moment.

    Your choice is

    It is never okay to leave your child unattended in the car. Disaster can strike in the blink of an eye.