Child Restraint Rules in New York

The New York injury law firm of Rappaport, Glass, Greene and Levine offers legal counsel for those who have been injured due to the actions of others. We have helped thousands of New Yorkers receive fair compensation after car accidents, incidents of medical malpractice, and injuries that occurred on the job. We have offices in Manhattan, but have helped injury victims in the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, Long Island, Staten Island, Suffolk, and all over the New York City metropolitan area. If you or a loved one has been in an accident in New York, contact the law offices of Rappaport, Glass, Greene and Levine for a free legal consultation today.

One of the key advances in car safety has to be restraint systems for infants and toddlers.

When you consider what we used to put our children in even twenty years ago it seems laughable and more than a little scary. We used to just throw them in the back seat or, even worse, put them in the front passenger seat.

Automotive researchers have since come to the important realization that an infant or toddler is quite a bit more fragile than a full grown human being, and that the restraints used by a young child should reflect that. Now, specialized car seats for infants and toddlers have actually been incorporated into law.

When you strap your child into his car seat, you aren’t just being conscientious and concerned for his safety. You are obeying the laws of the state of New York. If you have a child under the age of four, you are required by law to place him or her in a safety seat. If the child is between the ages of four or six, he must have a child restraint system.

Getting your child properly restrained is not as difficult as you would think. Practically all of them have the right weight and measurement recommendations printed right on the packaging. But in order to help you correctly choose the right ones, here are some tips:

Infant Seats: These are for babies that weigh anywhere under 22 pounds, are less than two feet in length, or are under one year old. You must place the seat so it is facing the rear of the vehicle. And you should never place the child in the front seat if you have passenger side airbags. Even though doing so is not illegal in New York, it is very dangerous. Children and even drivers who are short in stature have been killed by collisions with deployed airbags.

Child Safety Seats (Convertible): This is the intermediate version of the safety seat, and it is for toddlers who weigh less than forty pounds. If the child is under one year old, you should still keep him or her in the back and have the seat towards the rear of the car. Once the child is over a year old, it is acceptable to turn the seat around towards the front. You should always be aware of your child’s weight and height and follow the instructions of the seat to adjust its settings accordingly.

Booster Seats: These can be difficult to use and enforce, as your children might start to resent being put in it once they get past a certain age, but using these is paramount to your children’s safety. These are for children who are four to eight years old who weigh between 40 and 80 pounds and are just under four feet and nine inches in length. They are basically a stop gap measure until a regular safety belt can safely fit around his or her waist. If your child is big enough to use a booster seat, it is safe enough to have the child facing forward.

Getting your child safely installed in a safety seat is important, but so is making sure that the seat is safely secured. Each safety seat has clear instructions as to how to get it done, and some even come with instructional DVD’s.

As car accident injury attorneys in New York City, we can tell you from experience that there is nothing more tragic than an infant or toddler losing his life due to a car accident, and it’s even worse when it happens because the child was not properly restrained. While obeying the law is an important factor in properly using child restraints, the safety of your child should provide you with all the motivation that you need.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident due to the negligence of someone else, contact the New York injury law firm of Rappaport, Glass, Greene and Levine for a free legal consultation today.