Long Island, Manhattan Accident Attorney Blog

Child Passenger Safety in New York

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among children older than age 2. A total of 1,045 children under the age of 13 died in motor vehicle crashes in 2008; nearly 700 of these deaths were children riding in passenger vehicles.

While the chances of serious injury or death in a car accident can never be fully eliminated, there are steps you can take to protect children in your car. Using child restraints, such as booster seats and seat belts, is the quickest way to improve child passenger safety.

The laws regarding child passenger safety vary from state to state, and advice on what types of restraints forare appropriate to ensure child passenger safety can vary from source to source. Here are some guidelines based on New York laws pertaining to children of different ages:

-->Infants: All infants under the age of 1 and under twenty pounds should ride in a back-facing infant seat. Infant seats have a handle for easy carrying, and often snap into a base that is attached in the car. Infant seats should be placed in the rear seats, and often have a mirror so the child is visible to the driver.

-->Toddlers: Children should ride in rear-facing seats as long as possible, but kids 1-4 years old can ride in front-facing child restraints. This can be the same infant seat, a convertible seat, or a 3-1 seat designed for toddlers. Children should ride in forward-facing child seats until about age four and until they weigh at least forty pounds.

-->Children 4-8 years: Children four to eight years old should always ride in a booster seat. Booster seats elevate children to the proper height to use the three-point seat belts designed for adults. Boosters come in high-back or backless varieties, though some vehicles have boosters built-in. Children in New York are required by law to be restrained in a booster seat until they are nine years old.

Call us at Rappaport, Glass, Greene, and Levine for a FREE consultation if you or your family have been the victim of a car accident. As experienced Long Island car accident attorneys, we can also answer any questions you have about ensuring the safety of your children in the event of a car accident.