Children up to 13 Face Car Booster Seat Requirement Thanks to New Washington Law
A new Washington state law could keep children riding in booster seats until the age of 13.
The law, which takes effect Jan. 1, requires that up until age 2, all children must be carried in rear-facing seats, according to the Spokane, Washington, Spokesman-Review. From ages 2 through 4, children must be strapped into a five-point harness.
Additionally, children must ride in a booster seat until they are either 4 feet, 9 inches tall or hit the age of 13, whichever takes place first.
Drivers who do not follow the rules while transporting children can be slapped with a $139 ticket — or they can rush to the nearest store.
Washington state’s new and stricter car seat law for children starts Jan. 1 and will require kids to be buckled into booster seats until they’re older because of a new height requirement. https://t.co/yMMlUfwlv5
— Tacoma News Tribune (@thenewstribune) December 27, 2019
“It does give that person the opportunity to correct the error, to acquire a car seat, to say, ‘I’ve got the booster seat now that my child needs,'” Cesi Velez, the project manager for the Washington Traffic Safety Commission’s child passenger safety program, said. “And they can go to the issuing court within seven days and show proof, and then they can get that charge dismissed.”
Officer Teresa Fuller of the Spokane Police Department said the new law is not that big of a deal because it simply codified what was already implied. The law being replaced required children to be in booster seats until the age of 8 and until the seat belt fit them properly.
Fuller said, however, that the seat belts would only fit if a child was at least 4 feet 9 inches tall.
The new law also prohibits children under 13 from riding in the passenger seat.
“That’s always been the law, that’s nothing new,” Velez said. “Although it’s getting a lot of attention, isn’t it?”
Velez said the law codifies existing best practices.
“Families were required just to follow the car seat manufacturer’s instructions, that still remains the same,” Velez said. “However, on those seats, there’s still some seats being made that a child can forward-face as young as 1 year old. And so our law will take precedence over that car seat manufacturers instructions.”
“We have been teaching extended rear-facing for over a decade now, but it was only taught as best practice. And so although we encouraged it, the law wasn’t there to support it.”
Some questioned the law’s priorities.
.@GovInslee just signed a law requiring children under the age of 12 to use a booster seat while in the car. I have just one question: When will the State of Washington pass laws protecting the thousands of innocent lives being lost every year to abortion, Governor? #ChooseLife
— Jim Daly (@DalyFocus) April 24, 2019
Starting January 1st you must be in a booster seat if you’re 4’9” or shorter in the state of Washington.
If this was around when I was growing up, I’d be in a booster seat until freshman year
— Season’s Yeetings (@omgShutUpDon) December 13, 2019
Dr. Beth Ebel, a pediatrician with the University of Washington School of Medicine, said the new law is good for children, according to KING-TV.
“It’s incredible the sort of crashes that kids can withstand, with no injury, when she’s in the proper harness seat,” she said.
Most drivers who transport children think their car or booster seat is installed correctly, but nearly half of the installations are flawed in some way. Here are some common mistakes, and how to remedy them. It can make the difference between life & death.https://t.co/sGoNv4ukik
— Darrigo Diaz Jimenez (@DDJlawfirm) December 23, 2019
Getting the right fit is also important, she said, to avoid “seatbelt syndrome” injuries.
“These are injuries where the seatbelt did its job saving your life but it’s not in the right position on the body,” Ebel said.
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