Child seat safety laws in Pennsylvania

Content

Summary of Pennsylvania Child Seat Safety Laws
recommendations
Fines

Vehicle collisions are a leading cause of injury and death in children. In Pennsylvania alone, about 7,000 children under the age of 5 are involved in car accidents each year. This is why it is so important to understand and follow the laws regarding child seat safety.

Summary of Pennsylvania Child Seat Safety Laws

Child seat safety laws in Pennsylvania can be summarized as follows:

Children under one year of age and weighing less than 20 pounds must be secured in a rear-facing child seat.
Any child under the age of four must be secured in a federally approved child restraint system and secured either with the seat belt system or with the LATCH system used in newer vehicles, whether or not driving. he is in the front or back seat. .
Any child four years of age or older but younger than eight years of age must ride in a federally approved booster seat secured with a harness system, whether riding in the front or back seat.
Children over 8 but under 18 must wear seat belts, whether they are riding in the front or back seat.
It is the responsibility of the driver to ensure that children are secured in age-appropriate restraint systems in any vehicle he or she drives.

recommendations

Although not specified in Pennsylvania child seat safety laws, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children ride in rear-facing child seats as much as possible.