January 11, 2012
In an effort to educate parents and caregivers on how to select a child safety seat and when the appropriate time is to transition your child to the next type of safety seat, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a press release discussing new guidelines the agency has set for children’s safety seats.
The new guidelines are categorized by age, rather than by type of safety seat. This is in an effort to stay relevant to data showing that this is what new child restraint system development is based on.
Recommendations for children’s car seat positions were:
- Birth-12 Months– Child should always ride in rear-facing car seat
- 1-3 Years– Keep your child in rear-facing car seat as long as possible based on height and weight limits set by the seats manufacturer. When your child has outgrown the rear-facing position, then move them to a front facing car seat
- 4-7 Years– Keep your child in the forward-facing car seat until they have reached height and/or weight limits established by the seat’s manufacturer
- 8-12 Years– Keep your child in a booster seat until they are big enough to fit into a seat belt properly
Indiana state law says that children under the age of seven are required to be buckled into a child safety restraint system when riding in a car.
The Indiana auto accident attorneys with Stewart and Stewart Injury Lawyers ask that parents check their children’s safety seat limits to ensure they are in compliance with the new regulations.