New York State law now requires that all children eight years old and younger wear a safety restraint that meets the manufacturer’s suggested weight and height requirements.
New York State first put its child seat safety laws into effect in April of 1982. Since that time, lawmakers have made a few additions to keep in line with the latest findings of child safety experts around the world. In this article, we’ll go over the major aspects of NY’s child safety seat laws and share a few valuable resources you can use to make sure your child is safe in the Empire State.
- Children two and younger should use a rear-facing car seat until they exceed the manufacturer’s suggestions.
- Once a child is over the age of two and goes over the manufacturer’s weight and height requirements, s/he can move on to a forward-facing seat.
- After the age of four and when a child is over the manufacturer’s requirements for a forward-facing seat, s/he can be placed in a booster seat with both the shoulder and chest straps.
- As of 2017, New York taxis must comply with the above child passenger safety laws.
- While taxis and other passenger vehicles must place children in appropriate safety restraints, public buses in New York are exempt from the above laws.
- Although not required, NY authorities strongly recommend parents keep their children in the back seat until they reach the age of twelve.
Luckily for New York residents, there are tons of online resources on child passenger safety. First, you can read through this article called “Child Passenger Safety for Parents and Caregivers” on New York State’s official website. Not only will you learn more about NY’s child seat safety laws on this page, you’ll also find links to many other helpful safety-related websites. New York parents who want their child safety seat inspected by a state trooper can check out this webpage to find an approved inspection location.
Here’s a short informative interview on YouTube with an NYS trooper that originally aired on CBS6 Albany. In this interview, Sgt. Daniel Larkin explains the major differences between rear-facing child restraints and forward-facing restraints.
Additional Resources:
- NYS DMV on Child Restraints