Georgia vs Tennessee

Between Atlanta and Chattanooga the rules tighten when you cross into Tennessee. Tennessee is one of the stricter states in the South: it keeps a child in a booster until age 9, requires children under 9 to ride in the back seat where available, and writes a rear-facing requirement into the law. Georgia keeps a child in a booster until age 8, requires the back seat for children under 8, and sets no rear-facing age. On the booster, the back seat, and rear-facing, Tennessee reaches a year or a stage further than Georgia.

Tennessee is one of the few states that keeps children in a booster until age 9, a year past the common age-8 standard and a year past Georgia. Both states also let a child out at 4 feet 9 inches. So an 8 year old who is legal in a seat belt in Georgia still needs a booster in Tennessee. Pediatricians recommend keeping a child in a booster until the belt fits, usually around 4 feet 9 inches, in both states.

Tennessee requires a child to ride rear-facing in the first year (until at least age 1 or 20 pounds), then forward-facing, then a booster, in a defined sequence. Georgia sets no rear-facing age at all. Tennessee also requires children under 9 to ride in the back seat where available, a year further than Georgia's under-8 back-seat rule. Both states recommend rear-facing as long as the seat allows and the back seat for every child under 13, but Tennessee's statutory requirements reach higher up the age range.

The fines are the same: each state sets a $50 penalty for a violation. With the fine equal, the comparison comes down to the booster age, the back seat, and rear-facing, all of which favor Tennessee. On an I-75 trip, follow Tennessee's stricter standard: a booster until age 9 and children under 9 in the back seat. Meet that bar and you are covered no matter which side of the state line you are on.