Children in Texas must be at least 8 years old OR at least 4’9″ tall to sit in the front seat of a car. This is because airbags are specifically engineered for adults, which means they can pose a risk to children.
Further, Texas Occupant Restraint laws require children under 8 years old or under 4’9” in height to be secured in a child passenger safety seat system according to manufacturer instructions. The law requires that the car seat is in the back, not the front seat. An offense under these laws is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $25 to $250, plus court costs.
Child seating guidelines in motor vehicles have caused significant confusion in Texas and across the United States. Rather than implementing clear regulations or laws, the information distributed on this topic has contributed to the lack of clarity. As a result, it has become challenging for individuals to navigate the standards and understand the best practices for child passenger safety in vehicles across states.
Additional guidelines have been added to these baselines, state-imposed legal requirements are published by organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Texas Department of State Health Services.
If the endangerment to child passengers by neglecting to use or misusing child safety seats is not motivation enough, fines and jail time may add additional motivation to follow the law. Offenses under the Child Passenger Safety Seat Systems portion of Texas Occupant Restraint laws will always result in a fine, and these fines can climb to $250 dollars, plus court costs. Noncompliance with safety requirements for children can result in child endangerment charges for the driver, particularly when the child is secured in the front seat.
Proper installation of car safety seats is extremely important. Be sure to review manufacturer instructions for the seat and confirm that the method with which it straps into your vehicle is compatible. When securing the seat and the child in it, ensure that all straps are tightened to the proper tension, the seat components are latched securely and correctly, there are no dangling or improperly place pieces, and any other applicable settings are correct.
Entering a roadway always involves an element of risk, and nothing clarifies this more than traveling with children in the car. However, there are some steps you can take to mitigate this risk and to protect your loved ones. Here are a few recommendations for things to do before, during, and after the use of a car seat:
Always wear your own seatbelt. Model this safe behavior for the kids in your car to see, every time you drive.
Children can be particularly susceptible to impact injuries, as their skeletal system is not done growing. Infants are born with about 300 separate bones, and the process of development and fusion resulting in the approximate 206 bones of a human adult takes place until growth stops, around age 25.
Tragically, beyond the potential for serious injuries being sustained, over 85 children under the age of 12 have died in car accidents, every year for the past 5 years, with the most fatalities totaling 106 in 2014. A considerable portion of these outcomes could have been different with appropriate safety seat and restraint use.
If your child has been hurt in a motor vehicle accident, do not hesitate to take every measure necessary to ensure their full recovery physically and emotionally. Any necessary surgeries, treatments, medications, and therapies advised by your healthcare professionals should be carefully followed. You can focus on what is important while your team helps with everything else.
At Thompson Law, we understand the value of family and the importance of keeping children out of the front seat. Nothing is more important and prescient than keeping your loved ones as safe as possible in vulnerable situations, such as on the roadway. When accidents happen, and especially when they result in injury to your children, you deserve help handling the aftermath.
Attorney Ryan Thompson and his experienced team of legal experts have handled a wide variety of cases involving children injured in motor vehicle and other accidents. The robust litigation experience and compassionate handling of your claim sets this group of attorneys apart. The Thompson Law approach results in life-changing settlements for our clients.
If you or your family have been injured in an accident, the time to contact Thompson Law is now. Allow yourself and your loved ones your full attention in the process of healing and recovery, as Thompson Law takes on the at-fault parties and big insurance companies, fighting for the justice and compensation you deserve.
Contact the injury lawyers at Thompson Law by calling us, anytime 24/7 for a free consultation and review of your case.
Texas law specifies specifies that a child be secured during the operation of a vehicle in a child passenger safety seat system according to the manufacturer’s instructions, unless the child is over four feet, 9 inches tall or 8 years of age or older (TRANSP § 545.412).
Most car seat manufacturers recommend keeping children 12 and under in the back seat, and not allow them to ride in the front seat at younger ages. Further, rear-facing child car seats may not be used in the front seat of a car if the car is equipped with airbags.
Texas law prohibits a child sitting in your lap while a motor vehicle is in operation. In Texas, the law states every passenger must use a seat belt in a moving vehicle. The penalty for adults violating this law is fines and court costs of up to $200. Children under 8 years and less than 4’9″ must be in a child safety or booster seat, or the driver faces fines of up to $250. Children are never allowed to sit on your lap in a moving vehicle.
Children can ride in a forward facing car seat once they are 1 year old AND weigh at least 20 pounds. However, you should keep your child in a forward facing seat as long as the manufacturer says it is safe to do so, as sitting rear facing is safer for children in the even of a motor vehicle accident.
A child must be over 4’9″ to sit in the front seat of a car in Texas. Once a child is over 4’9″, kids can sit in the front seat of a car in Texas using a lap or shoulder seat belt. However, children less than 13 years should never ride in the front seat of any vehicle with active airbags on the passenger side.
In Texas, kids can use a seat belt only once they are 8 years of age or older. The National Safety Council recommends that a child also be over 4’9″ tall, weigh more than 80 pounds, and be over 12 years before riding in the front seat, although Texas law does not require it.
If a parent or guardian allows a child who is too young and/or too short to ride in the front seat of a car in Texas, it is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine between $25 to $200 according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. However, if the person is operating the vehicle in an emergency or for law enforcement purposes, that can be used as a defense to prosecution for a child riding in the front seat.
The four stages of car seat use are rear-facing car seats, forward-facing car seats, booster seats, and seatbelts. These four recommended stages of child passenger safety can be broken down as follows:
Yes, laws related to car seat usage vary by state in the US. Every state and territory in the United States requires child safety seats for infants and children fitting specific criteria. However, the requirements for each state vary based on age, weight and height.
For example, in California a car seat is required to be rear-facing for children under 2 years old, unless the child weighs 40 or more pounds or is 40 or more inches tall. Similar to Texas, California requires car or booster seats for children under 8 years and less than 57 inches tall, and also requires the car seat be in the back seat of the car.
If you are going on a road trip and need to know the car seat laws for other states, or do not know the car seat law in your state, you can see here for child passenger seat belt laws by state.
In addition to carefully reviewing the manufacturer’s guidelines, you can contact a certified child safety seat technician. A child passenger safety (CPS) technician can check to ensure you installed your car seats correctly, and teach you how properly install and use a car seat on your own. They can also discuss with you when it is safe for a child to ride in the front seat of a car.
Ages four to eight: Booster seats should be used between 4 and 8 years of age for children over 40 pounds and less than 4 feet 9 inches tall. Booster seats were designed to be used when a child reached 40 pounds, typically around age 4 to 5. Kids who are heavier or taller than the limits for a forward facing car seat should switch to a belt-positioning booster seat.
If your child exceeds 40 pounds before the age of 4, they would be better protected using a five-point harness in a child seat with a higher maximum weight. Please be sure to consider the child’s age, weight, height, and behavioral maturity before moving them to a booster seat, as well.
Texas law allows children to ride in the front seat of a car, unless the car seat is rear-facing and the vehicle has a passenger airbag. The law does not specify where children can ride in vehicles; rather, it only states that child seats be used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. If you follow these guidelines, Texas occupant restraint laws state it is legal to allow a child to ride in the front seat of a car in Texas. However, note that the age kids can sit in the front seat of a car varies by state.
Yes, car seats expire 6 to 10 years from the date of manufacture. The manufacture date is required to be placed on all car seats. It can typically be found on a sticker that provides the serial number, manufacture date, and expiration date, or molded into the shell on the back of the seat. If you are unable to locate the manufacture or expiration date on a car seat, you should assume it expires at 6 years. Car seat manufacturers in the US are not required to provide an expiration date, although most do so today.
Car seats expire for a variety of reasons, such as the plastic becoming brittle, changing regulations and recalls, wear and tear, and the outer limits testing the expected useful life of a car seat. While most states do not have laws prohibiting the use of an expired car seat and their is no regulation prohibiting it, the NHTSA highly recommends replacing expired car seats if parents can afford to do so.
There are several ways you can tell if your child’s car seat is being recalled:
The NHTSA recommends that car seats be replaced after a moderate or severe crash. This is intended to ensure a continued high level of crash protection for children in a potential future car accident. Car seats do not need to be replaced following minor crashes.
The NHTSA defines a minor crash as a collision in which all of these apply:
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