Michigan Car Seat Laws: Everything You Need To Know
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Many of the car seat laws that we have in place today are there to protect children. While parents are on the road and they should have children strapped in correctly based on their age, their weight, and their height. However, Michigan car seat laws attempt to provide laws based on age that parents should still be aware of.
Below, we’ll outline a few of those laws and recommendations, taking a look at both to avoid any confusion. As a parent, you are responsible for following the law but you should also look at the manufacturer’s recommendations to keep your children safe no matter what age they are.
Michigan Car Seat Laws
According to Michigan state laws, all children that are under the age of 8 and below 4’9” should ride in either a car seat or a booster seat. Though 8 is the recommended age, parents should still check the height and weight recommendations of the car seat they are using.
Parents not only need to abide by these laws but also consider specific recommendations and restrictions when it comes to the type of seat and the way they face the seat in the car. Below, we’ll outline a few milestones that are important to car safety for children.
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Rear-Facing Seat
Rear-facing seats are said to be the safest and are recommended for children from infancy all the way to 2 years old. Though the law doesn’t specify the age, parents should keep their kids in rear-facing car seats as long as they can. Once they grow out and pass the weight and height recommendations, parents will need to change to a front-facing car seat.
Front-Facing Seat
As children grow, they will start to outgrow their rear-facing seats. When they surpass a certain height, parents will need to change the orientation of the seat to face the front. Michigan does not give an age at which children should switch to front-facing but they recommend parents checking manufacturer’s recommendations on the car seat they are using.
Most of the time, children ages 3 to 5 go in a front-facing car seat and stay there until it’s time to move into a booster seat. Still, parents should use their best judgment and keep their children in a car seat until they are big enough to sit properly in either a booster seat or the regular seat in the back or front of the vehicle.
Booster Seat
With a booster seat, parents will have to use the seat belt of the car to strap their children in. Parents should not move their children to a booster seat until they meet the weight and height recommend and they fit in the seat just right. Apart from sitting in the seat correctly, parents need to check the safety belt to avoid any injury around the abdomen and neck.
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Normal Seating in Michigan
Michigan does not have any laws governing the age at which a child can move to the front seat. They do however say that all children under 8 should remain in some sort of restraining system. According to the National Highway and Transportation Safety Association (NHTSA), children should remain in the back seat until they are 13 years old.
Moving a child to the front seat too soon comes with a number of risks, including injury due to the airbags that have a very large force when directly impacting children.
Parents Must Decide
There are some grey areas in Michigan car seat laws, mostly around the age of 4. Because children grow differently, it’s difficult to put a number on changing seats. For example, there is no law that indicates what should happen to children at the age of 4.
It is therefore up to the parents to decide whether they want to face children toward the rear or to the front. Though it’s great to keep children in the rear-seated form forever, they will sprout long legs and eventually grow out, making it unsafe to ride around that way.
Exceptions to Rules in Transportation
Michigan car seat laws are aimed at transportation in normal vehicles with parents or guardians. However, there are several exceptions to this rule depending on the type of Transportation. For example, when children ride in taxis, buses, or motorcycles, there are no requirements for safety belts. Parents are urged to use caution when riding in these forms of transportation.
These exceptions also hold true for very old cars. Any vehicle that was made before the year 1965 has no laws or regulations when it comes to strapping children in safely. Though these exceptions exist, parents should still take other measures to ensure that their children can travel safely on the road, no matter where they go.
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Where to Check your Car Seat
When in doubt, parents can check their car seats in several locations, including hospitals, fire stations, and police stations. Michigan also has a number of fitting stations for parents and children. When choosing any of those mentioned above, technicians make sure seats are strapped into the car properly and children fit properly.
They will also go over how to strap children in comfortably and safely and also point out other recommendations to driving on the roads safely with children.
Always Look Out for Changes
Michigan car seat laws are not set in stone and, as information changes, so too do the laws. Most of the statements in the laws are a fusion of recommendations, leaving it up to the parents to ultimately decide. When in doubt, always check for current laws and visit a fitting station for the best advice on how to strap your kiddo in.
These days, you can’t be too careful on the road, so you should take every precaution to secure your little ones into a car seat. Keep them strapped in and in the back seats as long as you can, decreasing their risk of injury while in the car or in case of an accident.
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