Nothing is more important than the safety of your child. Properly buckling your child in a car seat or booster seat will help lower the chance that your child is seriously injured in a car accident. Correctly buckled and seated children have a 50% increased chance of surviving a car accident. If your child was injured in a car accident in Michigan, do not hesitate to call the experienced car accident attorneys at the Clark Law Office.
Choosing the Right Car Seat for your Child
There are three types of car seats: rear-facing car seats, front-facing car seats, and booster seats. Which seat is appropriate for your child depends on the age, weight, and height of your child.
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Rear-Facing: According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), toddlers need to be seated in rear-facing car seats until they are 2 years old or until they exceed the maximum weight or height requirements of their specific car seat.
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Front-Facing: The AAP suggests that children 2 years or older, or those that have exceeded the maximum weight or height requirements of their rear-facing seat, should use a front-facing car seat with a harness. This seat should be used for as long as the child does not exceed the maximum weight or height requirements of the front-facing seat.
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Booster-Seat: Children who have outgrown their front facing car seats should still use a booster seat that helps position the seat belt at a safe level for the child to wear. It is often the case that a child who has outgrown his front-facing seat is still not the appropriate size to be properly protected by a seat belt. The booster seat allows the seat belt to safely restrain the child.
Michigan Child Passenger Safety Law
It is important to know Michigan’s Child Passenger Safety Law in order to keep your child safe as a passenger in your own, or someone else’s, car. According to the law, if the vehicle has a rear seat, then children under the age of 4 must ride in the rear seat and must also be in a car seat. When all available rear seats are occupied by children under 4, then a child is permitted to ride in a car seat in the front seat of the vehicle. However, if the child is seated in a rear-facing car seat, then the front passenger-side air bags must be turned off.
Michigan’s Child Passenger Safety Law also requires that any child less than 8 years old and less than 4 feet, 9 inches tall be buckled in a car seat or booster seat.
Contact a Michigan Car Accident Attorney Today
Was your child injured as a passenger in a car accident in the state of Michigan? Or were you injured in a car accident in the state of Michigan? If so, contact the Clark Law Office today. A dedicated and skilled Michigan car accident attorney will help you recover compensation for the costs of vehicle repair and/or replacement, personal injuries, pain and suffering, and healthcare costs, as well any earnings lost as a result of being unable to work.
