New York Infant Car Seat Laws Officially Changing

There's always a debate about when a child should begin to be forward facing in a car seat. Some argue that it's based on weight, some seats are specifically listed, and some say it's age-based. Now, the Governor has signed a new law to clear up the argument.

I need to preface this with the fact that I'm not a parent so the debate of where a child is facing in a car seat is lost on me at the moment. I always see parents debating this issue and now that the law will be changing, maybe the debate will too.

According to the current law, children were to remain in some kind of car or booster seat until 8 years old. Now, the Governor has recently added that now children under the age of two must remain rear-facing when in a car seat. Before this wasn't specified, just recommended by organizations and car seat companies.

If a child is found seated in the car seat improperly once the law takes into effect, parents can be ticketed and even face fines. The law will go into effect on November 1st, 2019 to allow families the time to purchase the proper seat.

According to WENY News, rear facing seats allow for children to be surrounded by an outer shell from the chair and therefore the safest. New York government obviously agrees and joins the other 8 states who have implemented a similar law.