The American Academy of Pediatricians (AAP) last month changed its recommendation on the age at which children can safely stop riding in a rear-facing car seat, to two years old.
Previously, AAP advised parents to keep their children in rear-facing seats until they were one year old or weighed 20 pounds. The group revised the number upward last month based primarily on a 2007 study that found infants up to 23 months old were significantly more likely to be injured in car crashes if they were riding in front-facing seats.
Other recommendations from the AAP:
- Kids older than two can ride in forward-facing car seats until they are too big for them.
- Children too large to ride in forward-facing car seats should ride in belt-positioning booster seats until they are about 4’9” tall.
- Children taller than 4’9” should ride in the back seat until they are 13 years old.
AAP says automobile collisions kill about 1,500 children younger than 16 each year. If your child has been harmed in an auto accident caused by a vehicle defect or negligent driver, contact our personal injury attorneys at Hodes Milman toll-free at (949) 640-8222 or submit the contact form via our website, www.hodesmilman.com. We’ve achieved million-dollar verdicts in product liability actions on behalf of our clients.
