Measure Would Require Rear-Facing Car Seats Until Age two In Oregon
Parents would have to keep their puny children in rear-facing car seats longer under a bill approved Monday in the Oregon House.
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The current rear-racing requirement only applies until a child turns one or is at least twenty pounds.
Democratic Rep. Sheri Malstrom of Beaverton said the proposal to switch that to age two goes after the advice of most national child safety organizations.
“Raising the age that a child should be kept in a rear-facing car seat can prevent serious injuries and save the lives of children,” she said.
According to the Governors Highway Safety Administration, four states – California, Fresh Jersey, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma – presently require children up to the age of two to rail in rear-facing car seats.
The measure passed the House 48-9 and now goes to the Oregon Senate.
One lawmaker who voted against the measure said he won’t obey the fresh requirement if the bill is signed into law.
Republican Dallas Heard of Roseburg said his now 3-year-old son hated his rear-facing car seat and repeatedly threw up on himself until he was switched to the forward-facing position.
Heard’s wifey is pregnant with another son and the lawmaker said if the child treats rear-facing car seats like his older sibling did, “he will face the front.”
“I will pay the fine, and be glad to do so,” said Heard.
But it’s unlikely Heard would be fined, at least primarily.
“It’s not the intent of this legislation to give law enforcement a fresh reason to ticket parents and guardians,” said Malstrom. “Police have committed to an educational period to make sure that all parents are aware of this switch in statute.”
Parents of toddlers inbetween the age of one and two who have already turned their child’s seat to the forward-facing position wouldn’t need to switch their child back to rear-facing. As written, the bill would exempt children who have turned 1-year-old before the effective date of the measure.
“It may be the very first time a 1-year-old has gotten a grandfather clause in a bill,” quipped Rep. Cedric Hayden, R-Roseburg, who voted in favor of the measure.
The American Academy of Pediatrics revised its guidelines for child safety seats in two thousand eleven to recommend a child stay in rear-facing seats until at least age Two.
The organization cited a two thousand seven explore in the journal Injury Prevention that showcased “children under age two are seventy five percent less likely to die or be severely injured in a crash if they are railing rear-facing.”