Maine Child Seat Laws Have Tightened Up

According to News Center Maine, there are new Maine child safety seat laws, the first in about ten years.

• The biggest change in the law is that Maine is joining Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York in requiring children to remain in rear-facing car seats until they are two years old.
• Kids who are older than two have to stay in forward-facing seats with a harness until they weigh 55 pounds. The previous weight requirement was 40 pounds, that's a big jump.
• Children who are younger than eight years old, who are shorter than 57 inches and weigh less than 80 pounds must be in a booster seat.
• Kids must sit in the backseat until they are at least 12 and weight at least 100 pounds.

One of the leading causes of death for children is car accidents, according to the article. Properly installed car seats can save lives. Unfortunately, an improperly installed car seat can't do it's job.

A series of free events to teach proper car seat installation is being put on by Safe Kids Maine. Find their event calendar here.