Car seats help save lives and prevent more serious injuries to the most vulnerable car occupants. Knowing which type of seat or setup your child should use is critical to protecting them while traveling with you. It can also help prevent you from facing fines for not following the laws, or your child from being thrown from their seat in an accident.
Like most states, Texas requires different types of seats or restraints based on the child’s development, as follows:
Children under the age of 2 are required to ride in a rear-facing car seat unless they exceed the manufacturer’s height or weight limit. Rear-facing seats are considered by experts to be the safest form of car seats as they provide better protection for a baby’s head, neck, and spine. Infants and toddlers have not fully developed their neck muscles, so if they are involved in a collision, they could suffer severe injuries without the protection that a rear-facing car seat can provide. Manufacturer recommendations can vary, but most rear-facing car seats have weight limits of 35 to 40 pounds. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends keeping children in rear-facing car seats for as long as possible, until they reach the manufacturer’s limits.
The next level is a forward-facing car seat. These car seats should be used when the child is 2 or older or has outgrown the manufacturer’s weight or height limits in their rear-facing seat. Most of these products are designed for children over 40 pounds.
When using this type of seat, be sure that you buckle the harness to the chest clip and tighten it to ensure the best fit. The chest clip should be at the child’s armpit level, and the harness straps should not be twisted. These seats should be used until your child outgrows them, based on the manufacturer’s height and weight limits.
Booster seats elevate a child so that the vehicle’s seat belt fits properly, over the child’s chest and hips, rather than the neck or stomach. Children are required to ride in a booster seat in Texas until they are at least 4’9.” Safety experts often recommend using a booster until the seat belt fits correctly, which may not happen until the child is between 8 and 12. Texas law requires children under 8 years old to be in a booster seat or other appropriate car seat unless they reach the height of 4’9”.
After children transition out of a car seat or booster seat, they must still be buckled up. All occupants traveling in a vehicle in Texas are required to be buckled up. Failure to comply with this requirement can result in expensive fines.
Sitting in the front seat is often a rite of passage that signals a child’s growing maturity. However, safety experts recommend that children under 13 ride in the back seat, as this is considered the safest spot for them.
Unfortunately, even if you follow all of the applicable rules, your child could still be injured in a car accident caused by someone else’s negligence. An experienced San Antonio car accident attorney from The Aguirre Law Firm can help protect your child’s rights if they are injured in a collision. Contact us today to get started with a free case review.
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