CHILD
SEAT
The best way to keep your child safe in the car is to use the right car seat in the right way. Here are some car seat safety tips and laws to protect your most precious cargo.
At what age can my child ride in the front seat of my vehicle?
California law requies all children 8 years of age or younger ride in the rear seat of a vehicle. There are special circumstances which provide exemption from the law. Your child may ride in the front seat if:
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Your vehicle has no rear seats. Rear seats are side-facing jump seats.
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Child safety restraints must never be placed on side-facing vehicle seats.
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The rear seats are rear-facing seats.
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The child restraint system cannot be properly installed in the rear seat.
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For example, your vehicle has lap belts only in the back seat, but there are lap and shoulder belts in the front seat. Your child is 5 and weighs 45 pounds and must ride in a booster seat. The booster seat must be used with a lap and shoulder belt; therefore your child may ride in the front seat.
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Children under age 7 occupy all rear seats.
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Medical reason (written by the pediatrician) requires that child not be restrained in the back seat. All children are safer in the back seat, ask another adult to ride with the child in the back.
It is strongly recommended by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that all children ride in the back seat of a vehicle until 13 years of age.
Should my child be seated "rear facing" or "front facing"?
Current law requires children to be seated in a "rear facing" child passenger restraint system until age 1. The CHP recommends keeping your child rear-facing for as long as possible up to the upper weight limit of your child's car seat.
Rear-facing seats are the safest kind of restraint for young children. The vast majority of collisions are frontal (meaning the front of the car strikes something else). Occupants within the vehicle are traveling at the same speed of the car, and in the collision, the seat belt is the primary method of slowing the body to a stop. A rear-facing car seat allows this stopping force to be distributed all along the child's body, as opposed to at small points where the seat belt would hold the child.
When in doubt, please come by any of our CHP offices to schedule a free car seat inspection.
How do I make an appointment for a free car seat inspection and installation?
Click here to schedule an appointment on-line.
Current California Law:
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Children under 2 years of age shall ride in a rear-facing car seat unless the child weighs 40 or more pounds OR is 40 or more inches tall. The child shall be secured in a manner that complies with the height and weight limits specified by the manufacturer of the car seat. (California Vehicle Code Section 27360.)
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Children under the age of 8 must be secured in a car seat or booster seat in the back seat.
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Children who are 8 years of age OR have reached 4’9” in height may be secured by a booster seat, but at a minimum must be secured by a safety belt. (California Vehicle Code Section 27363.)
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Passengers who are 16 years of age and over are subject to California's Mandatory Seat Belt law.
When can a child graduate to a booster seat?
California law does not address graduation time from a five point harness to a booster seat. In the interest of safety, do not rush to move a child into a booster seat before they’re ready. Each time you “graduate” your child to the next seat, there’s a reduction in the level of protection for your child. Keep your child in each stage for as long as possible.
A child is ready for a booster seat when they have outgrown the weight or height limit of their forward-facing harnesses, which is typically between 40 and 65 pounds. Read the forward-facing car seat’s owner’s manual to determine height and weight limits, and keep your child in a harnessed seat for as long as possible.
Children at this stage are not yet ready for adult safety belts and should use belt-positioning booster seats until they are at least 4’9″ and between 8 and 12 years old. Safety belts are designed for 165-pound male adults, so it’s no wonder that research shows poorly fitting adult belts can injure children.