Most people who have young children in Connecticut know how strong the urge to protect them can be. However, not everyone always agrees on what steps are involved in properly protecting kids. This is one reason that the law sometimes becomes important as it can be the reason that parents do what is necessary to keep their children safe, including when automobile accidents happen.
A new law that went into effect October 1, 2017 is an example of this. Connecticut has adopted new laws about what type of child restraints must be used and when. The stipulations of the new law indicate that any initial violation would be an infraction and subsequent violations may result in financial penalties.
Up until October, booster seats were only required for children up to the age of seven. Now, children must remain in those booster seats for an extra year until they are eight. After moving out of a booster seat, kids should remain the rear seats of vehicles for another five years until they are 13 years old. Prior to the new law, parents could move infants from rear-facing seats to front-facing seats when they reached 12 months of age or 20 pounds. Now babies must stay in the rear position until they are 24 months old.
When an accident occurs and a child is involved, it may be important for a Connecticut resident to reach out to an attorney to know how best to protect themselves and their children.
Source: Hartford Courant, “Experts Say New Car Seat Law Will Prevent Injuries And Save Lives,” Daniela Altimari, September 29, 2017