Buckle in Baby Safely (BIBS)

G.S. 20-137.1(a1) reads as: "(a1) A child less than eight years of age and less than 80 pounds in weight shall be properly secured in a weight-appropriate child passenger restraint system. In vehicles equipped with an active passenger-side front air bag, if the vehicle has a rear seat, a child less than five years of age and less than 40 pounds in weight shall be properly secured in a rear seat, unless the child restraint system is designed for use with air bags. If no seating position equipped with a lap and shoulder belt to properly secure the weight-appropriate child passenger restraint system is available, a child less than eight years of age and between 40 and 80 pounds may be restrained by a properly fitted lap belt only."

NOTE: Senate Bill 1218, was ratified by the NC Legislature on July 15, 2004. The changes went into effect January 1, 2005. Child safety seats should be appropriate for the size and age of a child. All children under 16 are required to buckle up no matter where they sit in a vehicle.

While most drivers will place children in child safety seats, 70 to 90% do so incorrectly.

The Buckle-In-Baby Safely Program, or BIBS, educates parents on the proper use of child safety seats. N.C. State Highway Patrol troopers are trained to check the seat's installation and make corrections. The Highway Patrol also provides a bright orange sticker for the parents to fill out with their child's emergency information on it to be secured on the child's car seat.

Each May, the N.C. Highway Patrol conducts a BIBS week where trained officers provide free safety seat checks at a number of locations across the state. Click here for the latest press release about BIBS Week.

BIBS brochures and stickers are sent annually to N.C. hospital birthing centers and, on request, to day care centers, fire and police departments, county social services and health departments, military bases, retail outlets that sell baby items, pediatrician's offices, and child birth educators.

• Infants up to the age of one and weighing less than 20 pounds should always be secured in a rear-facing safety seat in the back seat of a vehicle.
• Never place a rear-facing child safety seat in the front seat where a front-mounted passenger air bag is present.
• Read the child seat installation manual and follow the manufacturer's instructions.
• Make sure the harness straps fit snugly at or below the infant's shoulders. The straps should lie fairly straight and flat without excessive sagging.
• A properly positioned harness chest clip should be at the infant's armpit level.
• If your infant weights 20 pounds or more before age one, he or she should ride in a rear-facing convertible child safety seat rated for heavier infants.
• Children older than one year who weigh from 20 to 40 pounds may ride in a forward-facing child safety seat located in the back seat of the vehicle.
• All children should ride in a safety seat with full harness until they weigh at least 40 pounds.
• Children who weigh more than 40 pounds and who have outgrown forward-facing child safety seats should always use booster seats.
• Children should use a booster seat until they can sit with their back against the vehicle seat back cushion, their knees bent over the seat cushion edge and both feet are firmly on the floor.

« this page last modified 12/08/05 »