Car Seat Laws Change, Is Your Child In The Right Seat?
From infant to child to booster... those car seat laws can be complicated. Here's what you need to know and how you can check to see if your child's seat is installed correctly.
Children must be at least 4 feet 9 inches before using adult-sized seat belts.
CA Office of Traffic Safety
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Child safety seats seem to be more complicated these days and trying to figure out which seat your child should be in has become a daunting task.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has a website with the new guidelines for child safety seats and a site where you can find a child safety seat check station in your area.
According to a new NHTSA survey, the following are the five most significant and commonly observed mistakes made by parents and caregivers when using and installing car seats and booster seats:
- Wrong harness slot used - The harness straps used to hold the child in the car seat were positioned either too low or too high;
- Harness chest clip positioned over the abdomen rather than the chest or not used at all;
- Loose car seat installation - The restraint system moved more than two inches side-to-side or front to back; anything more than one inch is too much.
- Loose harness - More than two inches of total slack between the child and the harness strap; there should be no slack.
- Seat belt placement was wrong – Lap belt resting over the stomach and/or shoulder belt on the child's neck or face.
