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CHP Offers Car Seat Safety Tips For Santa Clarita Parents

With September being National Baby Safety Month, officials with the California Highway Patrol are offering Santa Clarita parents car seat safety tips to help keep their child safe while in the car.

From the day parents bring their newborn baby home until the age of 2, children must ride in a rear-facing car seat in the back seat of the vehicle, according to California state law.

However, if a child reaches 40 pounds or 40 inches before the age of 2, parents may turn the car seat facing forward, according to CHP officials.

The reason the law requires children under 2 years old to face backward is that the seatback of the passenger or driver seats can absorb most of a crash impact, according to officials.

Parents are encouraged to read the handbook that comes with a car seat to see the maximum weight the chair can support, said Officer Robert Manzano with the California Highway Patrol.

It is recommended that children stay in their car seats until they reach that limit before switching to a booster seat, Manzano said.

“The child must be restrained in a booster seat until 8 years of age,” Manzano said.

However, if a child reaches a height of 4’ 9” before turning 8 years old, they may sit in a regular chair, according to officials.

Once a child reaches either 8 years old, or 4’ 9”, a strategy parents can use to see if the child could safely sit in a regular car chair is as follows: the child should be able to sit all the way back against the auto seat, with their knees bent comfortably at the front edge of the seat, the shoulder belt crossed at the collar bone and the lap belt as low as possible across the top of the thighs. The child should remain seated in this manner for the entire trip, according to CHP officials.

During this process, if parents see that the seat belt shoulder strap is touching a child’s face, chin or any part of their head, officials urge parents to keep their child in a booster seat.

If the seat belt strap is in contact with any part of the child’s face during a major car crash, it could lead to serious injuries or death, Manzano said.

Although there is no law that says when a child can advance from sitting in the back seat to the front seat, the CHP recommends that all children under the age of 12 remain in the back seat.

This is for their safety in the event the airbags deploy, according to officials.

Parents with young children are encouraged to set up a free appointment with their local CHP office to learn how to properly install a car seat, and to get advice if their child can sit in a chair without a booster seat.

The CHP Newhall Area Office phone number is 661-294-5540, and it is located at 28648 The Old Road.


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CHP Offers Car Seat Safety Tips For Santa Clarita Parents

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About Louie Diaz

Louie was born and raised in Santa Clarita. At the age of two Louie lost his vision due to a brain tumor. However, Louie doesn't let blindness stop him from doing what ever it is he wants to accomplish. Growing up some of his favorite hobbies were wood working, fishing and riding bikes. Louie graduated from College of the Canyon in December of 2017, with a Broadcast Journalism degree. Growing up Louie has always wanted to be a fire fighter or a police officer, but because of his blindness Louie knew that wouldn't work. Louie has always loved listening to police and fire radio traffic, using a scanner, and he figured if he was going to listen to the scanner so much, he should do something with it.