Motor Vehicle Safety

Birth to 4 Years of Age

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends your child should ride in a rear-facing car seat until he or she reaches the top height or weight limit allowed by your car seat’s manufacturer. Infants and young children under age of 1 and weigh less than 26.5 lbs. must always ride in a rear facing seat. Some car seat manufacturers have a 2 year minimum age requirement for forward facing use when using a convertible or all in one car seat.

There are different types of rear-facing car seats:

• Infant-only seats can only be used rear-facing.
• Convertible and all-in-one car seats usually have higher height and weight limits for the rear-facing position, allowing you to keep your child rear-facing for a longer period of time.

Once your child has outgrown their rear-facing car seat, your child is ready to travel in a forward-facing car seat with a harness.

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4-8 Years of Age

Once your child has outgrown their rear-facing car seat, your child is ready to travel in a forward-facing car seat with a harness. Keep your child in a forward-facing car seat with harness until he or she reaches the top height or weight limit allowed by your car seat’s manufacturer. When installing a forward facing car seat with harness please remember to tether the seat per instructions as this reduces head motion in a crash.

There are different types of forward-facing car seats:

• Convertible and all-in-one car seats can be used both rear- and forward-facing. Once your child has reached the top height or weight limit in the rear-facing position, you can turn the car seat around and continue to use the car seat until the child reached the top height or weight limit in the forward-facing position. Be sure to read the car seat manufacturer’s instructions because some adjustments to the harness may need to be made.
• Combination seats can only be used forward-facing.

Once your child outgrows the forward-facing car seat with a harness, they are ready to travel in a booster seat but still remain in the back seat.

Schedule a car seat check >

8-14 Years of Age

State law requires that a child is in a booster seat until they are at least 6 years of age and 60 pounds. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that a child remains in a booster seat until they are at least 4' 9" tall and are between 8 and 12 years old. Booster seats raise a child up so the seat belt will fit the child and provide a safe ride. The longer you can keep your child in a booster seat the better.

How do I know when my child is safe to ride without a booster seat?

Keep your child in a booster seat until he or she is big enough to fit in a seat belt properly. For a seat belt to fit properly, the lap belt must lie snugly across the upper thighs, not on the stomach. The shoulder belt should lie snugly across the shoulder and chest and not across the neck or face. The feet should lie flat on the floor of the vehicle to prevent your child from slouching in the seat. Your child should continue to ride in the back seat as this is generally the safest place for anyone in the most common type of car crash, a head-on collision.

If you can answer YES to ALL five of the following questions, then your child should be ready to stop using a booster seat and start using just the seat belt. Keep your child in a booster if the answer is NO to any of these questions.

1. Can the child sit all the way back against the vehicle seat?
2. When sitting all the way back in the seat, do the child's knees bend comfortably at the edge of the seat?
3. Is the lap belt on the top part of the child's thighs?
4. Is the shoulder belt centered on the child's chest and shoulders? Never put the shoulder belt behind the child. If it is too high and goes across their neck or face, they need to be in a booster seat.
5. Can the child stay seated like this for the entire trip?

Schedule a booster seat check >

The correct and consistent use of car seats can reduce the risk of death by 71 percent for infants and 54 percent for toddlers. (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children stay rear-facing in their car seats until a child reaches the upper weight and height limits of his car seat. Children should then stay forward-facing until they reach their seat’s upper weight and height limits for that position. The CPS Education program offers several services for the public to save lives and prevent injuries of children in motor vehicle crashes.

Current activities of the Child Passenger Safety Education program include:

• Providing educational workshops on the basics of child passenger safety.
• Conducting National Highway Traffic Safety Administration child passenger training courses to train CPS technicians.
• Loaning child safety seats to parents and caregivers.
• Conducting child safety seat check-ups for parents and caregivers to ensure correct installation of child seats. Learn more by calling 501-364-3400.
• Coordinating a statewide child safety seat distribution program for communities with certified CPS technicians. This distribution program provides seed resources to organizations that have or are establishing CPS activities or have opportunities to access children from vulnerable populations throughout the state.
• Funding for the CPS program originates with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and is administered through the Highway Safety Office of the Arkansas State Police.

For more information on becoming a CPST please reach out to the one of the listed contacts below:

Heather L. Smith, BS, CPSTI
Community Engagement
Program Coordinator
Child Passenger Safety Education
Arkansas Children’s Hospital
1 Children’s Way • Slot 843
Little Rock, AR 72202
501-364-3329 office
smithh3@archildrens.org

Christi Jones, CPSTI
Community Engagement
Program Specialist
Child Passenger Safety Education
Arkansas Children’s Hospital
1 Children’s Way • Slot 843
Little Rock, AR 72202
501-364-3392 office
smithh3@archildrens.org

Charles Maxwell, CPSTI
Community Program Supervisor
Child Passenger Safety Education
Arkansas Children’s
1 Children’s Way • Slot 843
Little Rock, AR 72202
501-364-5655 office
maxwellct@archildrens.org

Schedule a car seat check-up appointment. >

Basic Guidelines for Child Safety Seat Usage

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants remain rear-facing until the upper weight limit of a convertible seat (usually 30-35 pounds) as long as they are within the height requirements of the seat. At a minimum, Infants should remain rear-facing in the back seat until at least 1 yr. old AND at least 20 lbs.

• Children may ride forward-facing once they are over 20 lbs. and 1 year of age in a seat with an internal 5-point harness. They should ride in a seat with an internal harness until they reach the weight limit of the harness (usually 40-65 pounds) as long as they are still within the height limit of the seat.
• Once the child weighs at least 40 lbs., the child should ride in a booster seat in the back seat until they are at least 4’9" tall. Booster seats MUST be used with a lap and shoulder belt. NEVER a lap-only belt.
• Before being allowed to use only the vehicle lap & shoulder seat belt, the child should be able to sit up with knees bent at the edge of the vehicle seat, the seat belt shoulder strap should fit comfortably across the chest (not across the neck), and the seat belt lap strap should fit low and tight across the upper thighs.