321.446 Child restraint devices.
1. A child under three years
of age who is being transported in a motor vehicle subject
to registration, except a school bus or motorcycle, shall
be secured during transit by a child restraint system which
meets federal motor vehicle safety standards, and the
system shall be used in accordance with the manufacturer's
instructions.
2. A child at least three
years of age but under six years of age who is being
transported in a motor vehicle subject to registration,
except a school bus or motorcycle, shall be secured during
transit by either a child restraint system that meets
federal motor vehicle safety standards and is used in
accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, or by a
safety belt or safety harness of a type approved under
section 321.445.
3. This section does not
apply to peace officers acting on official duty. This
section also does not apply to the transportation of
children in 1965 model year or older vehicles, authorized
emergency vehicles, or motor homes, except when a child is
transported in a motor home's passenger seat situated
directly to the driver's right. This section does not apply
to the transportation of a child who has been certified by
a physician licensed under chapter 148, 150, or 150A as
having a medical, physical, or mental condition which
prevents or makes inadvisable securing the child in a child
restraint system, safety belt, or safety harness.
4. The operator who violates
subsection 1 or 2 is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject
only to the penalty provisions of section 805.8, subsection
2, paragraph "x".
5. A person who is first
charged for a violation of subsection 1 and who has not
purchased or otherwise acquired a child restraint system
shall not be convicted if the person produces in court,
within a reasonable time, proof that the person has
purchased or otherwise acquired a child restraint system
which meets federal motor vehicle safety standards.
6. Failure to use a child
restraint system, safety belts, or safety harnesses as
required by this section does not constitute negligence nor
is the failure admissible as evidence in a civil action.
Section History: Recent form
84 Acts, ch 1016, § 1; 86 Acts, ch 1069, §
1; 2000 Acts, ch 1133, §11
Internal References
Referred to in § 321.210, 321.445, 321.555,
805.8(2x) |
