Buckle Up! Police Cracking Down
- Portland Observer
- 16 hours ago
- 2 min read
Seatbelt and Child Seat Awareness
Beginning Monday, August 18, 2025 and extending through Sunday, August 31, 2025, law enforcement agencies throughout Oregon will use federally funded enforcement hours to educate the public about safety belt and child seat laws including a law passed in 2017 increasing safety for children under age two.
Of the 23,959 passenger vehicle occupants killed in the United States in 2023, nearly 50% of those killed were not buckled.
ORS 811.210 – Failure to properly use safety belts; penalty is a Class-D violation.
Child Passenger Safety Week is September 21-27, 2025. Just like drivers check their vehicle’s oil and tires, everyone who drives children needs to check their car seats to make sure they’re appropriate for your child’s age and size. Sometimes as parents, we don’t know what we don’t know. Even for experienced parents who think their children are all set, Child Passenger Safety Week is a great time to double-check. Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians will be holding public events in communities nationwide where parents can get their car seats checked for free. Let’s work together to keep our children safe.
The Portland Police Bureau is hosting a child safety seat clinic at the Traffic Division on Thursday, August 28, 2025 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. If you are interested in the child seat clinic, please make an appointment through OHSU: Car and Street Safety | Doernbecher Children's Hospital | OHSU. Time and space will be limited.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading nationwide cause of death for children ages one through twelve years old. In 2023, 1,972 children under twelve were injured in Oregon traffic crashes, 11 percent were reported not using a child restraint system. It is estimated that car seats may increase crash survival by 71% for infants under one year old and by up to 59% for toddlers aged one to four. Booster seats may reduce the chance of nonfatal injury among four- to eight-year-olds by 45% compared to safety belts used alone.
Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) crash data for 2023 shows lack of safety belt or child restraint use was a factor in 30% or 111 of a total 365 motor vehicle occupant fatalities in Oregon.
In 2017 an Oregon law was passed requiring children to ride in a rear-facing safety seat until they are at least two years old. A child over age two must continue to ride in a car seat with harness or in a booster until they reach age eight or 4’ 9” in height and the adult belt fits them correctly.
The 2017 law, which extends the rear-facing requirement from the previous age one to age two, will better protect the child’s head, neck, and spine from potential crash injuries. This is because a rear-facing seat spreads crash forces evenly across the seat and child’s body while also limiting forward or sideways motion of the head.