What are the Oklahoma car seat laws?
Oklahoma car seat laws prevent you and your children from dealing with significant injuries from a car accident. Children under two must ride in a rear-facing seat, while children between two and four are to ride in a forward-facing seat.
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UPDATED: Mar 29, 2023
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UPDATED: Mar 29, 2023
It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right coverage choices.
Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident car insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We are not affiliated with any one car insurance company and cannot guarantee quotes from any single provider.
Our insurance industry partnerships don’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own. To compare quotes from many different companies please enter your ZIP code on this page to use the free quote tool. The more quotes you compare, the more chances to save.
On This Page
- Oklahoma car seat laws require children to ride in rear-facing seats until two years and older
- You could face a $208 fine for breaking a car seat law in Oklahoma
- Children are required to ride in some form of car seat until they are seven years old
Every state has its own set of car seat laws by which visitors and residents must follow. The consequences of breaking car seat laws include fines and points added to your license, depending on the state.
Specifically, you should know the Oklahoma car seat laws if you have young kids and live in Oklahoma or are planning a trip there soon. In Oklahoma, car seat laws require children under two years old to ride in rear-facing seats, children under four in forward-facing seats, and then they move to booster seats until seven. Failure to abide by Oklahoma car seat laws could result in hefty fines.
Keep reading to learn more about Oklahoma car seat laws, including booster seat requirements, penalties, Oklahoma car seat weight laws, and more.
What are Oklahoma car seat laws for rear-facing and forward-facing seats?
If you have kids, are planning to have kids, or planning to transport kids in your vehicle as a resident of Oklahoma, it is essential to understand Oklahoma’s penalties and regulations for car seats. So let’s take a look at some of the requirements in Oklahoma for rear-facing and forward-facing seats.
Oklahoma Car Seat Laws: Rear-Facing
According to Oklahoma Highway Safety, children below two years old must ride in a rear-facing car seat. A rear-facing car seat may include a convertible car seat or an infant car seat. A child below two years old may switch out of a rear-facing car seat if they exceed the stated size limits from the seat’s manufacturer.
Rear-facing car seats are required for children and infants under two years old because they dramatically decrease the risk of injury in a collision. By design, rear-facing car seats will more evenly spread the force of a car crash across the back of the baby’s head, neck, and spine.
Oklahoma Car Seat Laws: Forward-Facing
With a convertible rear-facing car seat, you can use it as a forward-facing car seat once your child turns two or reaches a specific weight limit, which is typically around 40 pounds. In Oklahoma, children are required by law to ride in a forward-facing car seat until they reach the age of four or exceed the seat’s height and weight limit.
Although forward-facing car seats are not as safe as rear-facing car seats, keeping your child in one until they have outgrown it significantly reduces the risk of injury if you are in an accident.
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What are Oklahoma booster seat requirements?
The difference between a car seat and a booster seat involves how the child is secured into the seat. With a car seat, your child is buckled in using the five-point harness attached to the car seat. Whereas with a booster seat, the child is secured using your vehicle’s seat belt.
In Oklahoma, children between the ages of four and seven are required by law to ride in a booster seat. However, children under seven may ride without a booster seat if taller than 57 inches.
Generally, once your child is eight years old and taller than 57 inches, they may ride in the backseat without a booster seat in Oklahoma.
Keep in mind that an adult seat belt is made to restrain an adult male of 165 pounds, and letting your child out of a booster seat too soon increases the risk of them getting injured in an accident. In this case, it is better to err on the side of caution than to put your child at risk of significant injury.
What are Oklahoma car seat laws for the front seat?
Interestingly, there are no specified laws in Oklahoma for when kids are allowed to ride in the front seat of your car. However, many car manufacturers recommend that kids not ride in the front seat until they are at least 13 years old.
Seat belts typically use our skeletons’ two most vital points to secure us in a car crash, the hips and rib cage. Even though a child under the age of 13 may seem significant in stature externally, their hips are not fully developed until around 13. Meaning a crash could cause more severe damage to the child’s hips in the front seat than in the back.
Again, it is always better to play on the safe side when transporting your kids in a vehicle. Even though Oklahoma has no specific law regarding how old kids have to be to ride in the front seat, use your discretion with their safety in mind.
What are the penalties for breaking Oklahoma car seat laws?
As with any law in any state, there are penalties for breaking Oklahoma car seat laws. Specifically, if you are pulled over for violating any Oklahoma car seat laws, you can face fines up to $208. However, there are no points added to your license for a car seat law offense, as far as we know.
Because Oklahoma also requires all drivers and passengers to wear seat belts at all times in a car, breaking a seat belt law may result in fines starting at $20 for a first offense.
You should also be aware that your Oklahoma car insurance rates may increase after being ticketed for breaking a car seat law. Most car insurance companies raise monthly rates for cited traffic violations, including breaking an active car seat law.
The best way to minimize the risk of a car seat law fine is not to break the law in the first place. It is always in your and your children’s best interests to adhere to Oklahoma car seat laws whenever you are riding in a car.
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Oklahoma Car Seat Laws: The Bottom Line
Oklahoma car seat laws, like other laws, are put in place to ensure the safety of your children and prevent you from dealing with significant injuries from an accident. Car seat laws can sometimes be inconvenient, but abiding by them guarantees optimal safety for your child and keeps you from paying hefty fines.
Children two years and younger are required by Oklahoma car seat laws to ride in a rear-facing car seat. Children between the ages of two and four are required to sit in a forward-facing seat, while children between four and seven are required to ride in a booster seat.
There are no laws requiring a minimum age limit to ride in the front seat, but many manufacturers recommend a person be at least 12 years old.
An exception to the age range of Oklahoma car seat laws applies if the child exceeds the car seat manufacturer’s height and weight limits.
Penalties for not adhering to Oklahoma car seat laws involve fines up to $208, although points should not be added to your license. However, the most significant penalty you face when breaking a car seat law is putting your child or children at risk of major injury.
It is important to note that your car insurance rates could increase after being pulled over and ticketed for breaking a car seat law. So, even though a direct penalty of breaking an Oklahoma car seat law is not heavy, your car insurance rates could be affected.
Before you drive any children in Oklahoma, make sure you understand Oklahoma car seat laws and follow them correctly.
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Zach Fagiano
Licensed Insurance Broker
Zach Fagiano has been in the insurance industry for over 10 years, specializing in property and casualty and risk management consulting. He started out specializing in small businesses and moved up to large commercial real estate risks. During that time, he acquired property & casualty, life & health, and surplus lines brokers licenses. He’s now the Senior Vice President overseeing globa...
Licensed Insurance Broker
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about car insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything car insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by car insurance experts.