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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | February 16, 2016 03:34 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Patrick M. Browne |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Rear-facing Child Seats |
| In the near future, I intend to introduce legislation that amends Title 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes to require that children under the age of one be secured in a rear-facing child seat while traveling in a vehicle. Title 75, Section 4581 (relating to restraint systems), currently requires any person operating a car, Class I truck, Class II truck, classic motor vehicle, antique motor vehicle or motor home which is transporting a child under four years of age to fasten the child securely in a restraint system. However, the law does not specify which direction the car seat should face. This poses a risk to the smallest of Pennsylvania’s travelers and endangers lives. Child restraint guidelines made by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommend that infants should be in a rear-facing car seat until they weigh at least 20 pounds and are at least one year old. Numerous studies confirm that children are safer in rear-facing car seats. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), a rear-facing car seat better protects the head, neck and spine of an infant because it distributes the force of a collision over the entire body. A number of states, including Alabama, Alaska, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin, currently require rear-facing car seats for children under the age of one. |
Introduced as SB1152