Public Health and Environment
Car Seats
Child passenger safety is a challenging topic for all families.
More than 80 percent of all child passenger safety restraints are used incorrectly. The many models of restraints and hundreds of vehicle types create confusion, frustration, and incompatibility issues.
As of July 1, 2009, Minnesota's child passenger safety law requires a child who is both younger than age 8 and shorter than 4 feet 9 inches to be fastened in a child safety seat or booster. Under this law, a child cannot use a seat belt alone until they are age 8 or 4 feet 9 inches tall — whichever comes first. It is recommended to keep a child in a booster based on their height, rather than their age. It is recommended that children under the age of 13 should ride in the rear seat.
In addition to the law, many additional recommendations are made by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The recommendations focus on two things:
The following pages link to additional information about choosing, using, and installing your car seat. They also address booster seat use and having your seat installation inspected.
