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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | August 18, 2015 09:28 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Michael H. Schlossberg |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Rear-Facing Child Seats |
| 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. Pennsylvania currently requires all children under the age of four to be properly secured in an approved car seat, in either the front or back seat of a vehicle. The law does not specify how the car seat should face. This poses a risk to the smallest of Pennsylvania’s travelers and endangers lives. Accidents, by definition, are often outside of our control as parents. Properly securing a small child, however, is something parents need to do. 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 does a better job at protecting the head, neck and spine of an infant because it distributes the force of a collision over the entire body. In the near future, I will introduce legislation to amend Title 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes by requiring children under the age of one to be in a rear-facing car seat while traveling in a vehicle. 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. As a father, when my family and I drive, the safety of my children is my number one responsibility. If there is ever an accident, I need to make certain my children are secure from injury. Please join me in co-sponsoring this legislation. If you have questions, please contact my Legislative Assistant Geoff Brace (gbrace@pahouse.net). |
Introduced as HB1551