The safety seat must be installed according to the manufacturers instructions. Parents must also check their car seat manufacturers height and weight limits and follow recommendations from health and safety organizations. New texas law effective 912009 a child up to 8 years old unless taller than 4 feet 9 inches must ride in a child safety seat. No child under the age of 13 should sit in the front seat according to the centers for disease control and prevention. Texas law states that all children under eight years of age unless taller than 57 inches are required to be in an appropriate child safety seat system whenever they ride in a passenger vehicle. Some states dont specifically list age height or weight requirements for sitting in the front seat but they do specify that children should reach 4 feet 9 inches before using an adult seat belt.
Adult safety belt usually for children between 10 12 years and 49. Children under age 1 should always ride in a rear facing car seat. Booster seats with adult lap and shoulder belt are preferred to children above 4 years and around 40 pounds. Forward facing seats for children above 2 years as long as they are between 40 80 pounds until they are 4 year old. Various manufacturers have rear facing limits of 30 33 35 and now 40 pounds. Dangers of riding in the front seat for young children car manufacturers typically design airbags to protect an adult whos at least 5 feet tall and roughly 150 pounds.
Visit our main car seat safety page for additional age weight and height guidelines. If you need help installing your car seat trust a professional and find a car seat inspection station near you. Use a rear facing infant or rear facing convertible safety seat as long as possible up to the rear facing height or weight limit of the seat. However the law does require that children under the age of 8 and under the height of 49 are secured in child passenger safety seat systems and it also requires that these safety seat systems must be used according to manufacturer instructions. However car and booster seat age height and weight requirements vary by product type and manufacturer. Even if a child is wearing a.
The safest car seats that the texas department of transportation txdot recommends using includes a rear or front facing restraint system followed by a booster seat. To improve car seat safety in texas the txdot recommends using a. Texas law does not specify where in the vehicle a child is required to ride. Properly install according to instructions in owners manual rear facing in the back seat. Many of the seats designed to be installed forward facing require that the child be at least one year old and 20 22 pounds please read the owners manual for correct information on your particular safety seat system.