{"id":6107,"date":"2019-05-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-14T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prd-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/?p=6107"},"modified":"2025-05-07T17:47:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T17:47:12","slug":"new-car-seat-law-rundown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/new-car-seat-law-rundown\/","title":{"rendered":"Confused by the new car seat law? Here\u2019s the rundown","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington state Governor Jay Inslee signed a new law in April 2019 updating car seat laws for Washington state.<\/p>\n<p>Starting January 1, 2020:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Children under the age of 2 must ride in a rear-facing car seat<\/li>\n<li>Children ages 2-4 must ride in a car seat with a harness (rear or forward facing)<\/li>\n<li>Children 4 and older must ride in a car seat or a booster seat until they are 4 foot 9 inches tall<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The changes aren\u2019t major \u2014 they simply align the state law with what the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has been recommending for years. The new regulations clarify when it\u2019s time to switch car seat types.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis new law is trying to provide more guidance about when to transition,\u201d says Erin Summa with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marybridge.org\/patients-visitors\/patient-family-support-services\/childhood-safety\/\">Mary Bridge Children&#8217;s Center for Childhood Safety<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Existing rules that aren\u2019t changing:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Follow the instructions for your particular car seat or booster seat. Harness adjustments, installation and weight\/height limits vary.<\/li>\n<li>Children can and should stay in each stage longer, if the seat still fits. Each transition is actually a step down in safety: rear facing is safer than forward facing, a harnessed seat is safer than a booster and so on.<\/li>\n<li>Children under the age of 13 must ride in the back seat.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All of these guidelines may be confusing, but Summa says it\u2019s important to remember it\u2019s all about what\u2019s going to best protect your child in case of a crash.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe laws we really worry about are the laws of physics,\u201d Summa says. \u201cThe ages and sizes in the new law reflect the minimum age to transition, but isn\u2019t necessarily best practice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For example, a 4 foot 9 inch child may have outgrown a booster seat in one car, but still need it to properly position the adult seat belt in another.<\/p>\n<p>Though the law doesn\u2019t go into effect until January 2020, there\u2019s no reason not to follow the updated law now, Summa says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe laws of physics are already in effect, right?\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n<h2>Seat belt readiness test<\/h2>\n<p>Though not specifically written into the new law, this seat belt readiness test can help determine when your older child is ready to stop using a booster seat. Have your child sit on the vehicle seat and scoot all the way back.<\/p>\n<p>Look for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Knees bend naturally at the edge of the seat<\/li>\n<li>Feet touch the floor<\/li>\n<li>Lap belt crosses tops of thighs (not the belly)<\/li>\n<li>Shoulder belt crosses between neck and shoulder<\/li>\n<li>Child can sit that way for the entire ride<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Still confused?<\/h2>\n<p>Remember, you can always dial the Mary Bridge Children&#8217;s Car Seat Help Line at <a href=\"tel:253-403-1417\">253-403-1417<\/a> to ask your safety questions, or schedule a car seat safety inspection in Tacoma, Covington or Puyallup. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marybridge.org\/patients-visitors\/patient-family-support-services\/childhood-safety\/childhood-safety-services\/car-seat-inspections\/\">Get more information<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Car seat inspections in the Inland Northwest<\/h2>\n<p>Starting December 2019, the Inland Northwest will begin offering free car seat inspections (by appointment only) the first and fourth Saturday of each month from 10am to 2pm. <a href=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/classes-events\/\">Find an upcoming time on the classes and events calendar<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gov. Jay Inslee signed a new law in April updating car seat laws for Washington state.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":123,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kids-health"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.6 (Yoast SEO v27.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Confused by the new car seat law? Here\u2019s the rundown - MultiCare Vitals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Washington state Governor Jay Inslee signed a new law in April 2019 updating car seat laws for Washington state. 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