Before you hit the road in Kansas, make sure you have your children in the proper seat that’s safe for their age, height and weight.
A rite of passage in every child’s life is moving from the back seat to the front seat of a car. They’ll be able to see more than before as they look through the front windshield for the rest of time— until their sibling calls “shotgun” on a road trip.
But when is it safe to move your child to the front seat? And when are children able to graduate from a booster seat to sitting on their own? Are there age requirements, or do they have to reach a different milestone?
Data collected from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2022 said that child safety seats, like booster and car seats, have been shown to reduce fatal injury by 71% for kids under 1 year old and by 54% for kids 1 to 4 years old.
The data also says that seat belts, when used correctly, reduce the risk of fatal injury to front seat riders ages 5 and older by 45% and reduce the risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 50%.
Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for children up to the age of 14, according to the NHTSA. Many of these deaths occurred because the children were not properly restrained, the Kansas Department of Transportation said.
Here’s what Kansas law says about child safety and car seats. HOW LONG DOES A CHILD NEED TO BE IN A CAR SEAT?
All children ages 4 and under are legally required to ride in a car seat in Kansas, according to the state’s Child Passenger Safety Act.
Children under the age of 1 should ride in a rear-facing car seat, the Kansas Highway Patrol says. The highway patrol says you should keep your child in a rear-facing car seat as long as possible, but they’re able to ride in a front-facing car seat with a harness if necessary.
All children between the ages 4 and 7 are required to ride in a booster seat unless they meet one of these requirements, the highway patrol says:
The child weighs more than 80 pounds
The child is taller than 4 feet, 9 inches
Only a lap belt is available
The highway patrol says you should keep your child in a front-facing car seat with a harness until they reach the top height or weight limit allowed by the manufacturer of the car seat.
WHEN SHOULD CHILDREN BE IN BOOSTER SEATS?
After they outgrow the seat, you can upgrade them to a booster seat. The child must still sit in the back seat.
It’s recommended, but not required that children ages 8-12 ride in a booster seat until they’re big enough to fit in a seat belt without any help. Your child doesn’t need a booster seat when:
The lap belt lies snugly across the upper thighs, not the stomach.
The shoulder belt lies snugly across the shoulder and chest, and not across the neck or face.
BOOSTER SEAT VS CAR SEAT: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
Booster seat and car seat are sometimes used interchangeably in conversations, but there is a difference. A car seat must be installed and has high restraints to keep the child safe. A car seat also has a high back for extra head and neck support and protection, according to the NHTSA.
A booster seat is designed to boost the child’s height so the seat belt fits properly, the NHTSA says, but it doesn’t have protection in other areas or require a complicated installation.
OTHER CHILD SAFETY TIPS
It’s recommended that all children ages 12 and under ride in the back seat of the car since it’s safer. But Kansas law doesn’t include any particular age or size requirements.
The highway patrol says front seat airbags are designed to protect full-sized adults if there’s a crash. If deployed with kids in the front seat, the airbags can injure them.
Seat belts must be worn at all times by everyone. Kids between the ages of 14 and 17 can get fined $60 if they’re not wearing a seat belt.
Read more at: https://www.kansas.com/news/state/article289940804.html#storylink=cpy
