42 Chapter 4 — Your Driving ride in cars. Infants and small children must be placed in safety seats that  are specially designed for them and have been crash-tested. Properly used  safety seats could save seven out of every 10 children who are killed while  unrestrained. Always read and follow the manufacturer’s instructions for using  the safety seat. The best seat for your child is a safety seat that is used every  time the child rides in a car. It must fit in your car(s) and have a harness or  shield system that is comfortable for the child. The seat should be one you are  able and willing to use every time an infant or small child rides in your car.  Safety seats are often available through low-cost rental programs operated by  local service groups, hospitals and health departments. Every driver transporting one or more passengers younger than 16 years of  age must make sure that each passenger under age 16 is properly secured in a  child passenger restraint system or a seat belt which meets the federal safety  standards that were in effect at the time it was manufactured. A child under  age 8 and weighing less than 80 pounds must be properly secured in a weight  appropriate child passenger restraint system. If the vehicle is equipped with an  active passenger-side front air bag and the vehicle has a rear seat, then a child  under age 5 and weighing less than 40 pounds must be properly secured in the  rear seat unless the child restraint system is designed for use with a front air bag  system. If there are no available seating positions in the vehicle equipped with  a lap and shoulder belt to properly secure the weight appropriate child restraint  system, a child under age 8 and between 40 and 80 pounds can be restrained  by a properly fitted lap belt only. For information about child safety seats, contact:  University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center  Bolin Creek Center  730 Martin Luther King Blvd.  Chapel Hill, NC 27514-5738 Phone: 1-800-672-4527 (in NC only) or 919- 962-2202 Booster seats that meet federal motor vehicle safety standards should be used  for children who have outgrown their standard safety seats until they are big  enough for seat belts. Adult seat belts should not be used for children until they  are big enough for the seat belt to fit correctly. The lap seat belt must fit snugly  across the child’s hips, not across the stomach. The shoulder portion of a lap/ shoulder belt must fall across the shoulder and chest, not across the face or  throat. For shoulder belts that do not fit, belt-positioning booster seats designed  to raise a child up for a proper fit of the lap and shoulder belts are readily  available. Air bags save lives. They work best when everyone is buckled and children are  properly restrained in the back seat. Children riding in the front seat can be  seriously injured or killed when an air bag comes out in a crash. An air bag  is not a soft, billowy pillow. To do its important job, an air bag comes out of  Children and Air Bags Booster Seats and Seat Belts for Children Child Seats