A proposed bill in California would prohibit some teens up to 16 years old from riding in the passenger seat of a car unless they meet certain height requirements.
The bill, sponsored by Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D), would also require children under 10 years old and shorter children under 13 years old to sit in a booster seat, ABC7 reported. Children under 13 years old would be barred from sitting in the front passenger seat, along with teens up to 16 who do not meet certain height requirements.
Current California law mandates that children stay in the backseat of the car or booster seat until they are 8 years old or 4 foot 9 inches and above, according to the report. Bill supporter Jennifer Rubin, coordinator with Safe Kids Greater Sacramento, noted that national recommendations have been updated for a while and states like Louisiana and Minnesota have passed similar legislation.
Benjamin Arias, owner of Beep Beep Car Seat and a certified expert in car seat inspections in installations, explained the car seats are not tied to age but to how the belt fits.
“The belt is touching the strongest parts of the body that’s through the chest, and upper shoulders and upper hip — not on the neck, not on the tummy,” Arias said.
He said he hopes to educate adults on how moving children to a seat belt and to the front passenger seat too soon is dangerous.
“When I was working at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, where a child came up to me and she had her glasses indented into her nose because that airbag deployed in her face and pushed her glasses in,” Arias said.
Assemblymember Tom Lackey (R), who is a former California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer, said the bill is well-intended, but he is unsure how the bill would be enforced properly.
“Having enforced traffic laws determining the age of children is very difficult to do when you have no verifying identification at that age level, so you’re going to have to trust the parents,” Lackey said.
Safety advocates say the main purpose of the bill is to increase safety for child passengers and reduce injuries in car crashes.
“If that child had just been in their $25 or $30 booster seat, they could’ve skipped those lifelong, internal, or spinal cord injuries that will impact them for the rest of their lives,” Rubin said.
The bill has passed out of the assembly transportation committee and is still be streamlined for further review, according to the report.
