Do you have the correct car seat for your child who is under the age of 2? Check again to be certain, because a new law went into effect Friday in New York that mandates that all children under the age of 2 must use a rear-facing car seat.
Before this law, a rear-facing seat was a recommendation for any child under 2.
Since 1982, New York has had a child passenger restraint law that said all children must be restrained in an appropriate child restraint system while riding in a motor vehicle until they reach their 8th birthday.

According to the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, an appropriate child restraint system is one that fits the child according to the manufacturer’s height and weight specifications.

There are three types of rear-facing car seats: infant seats, convertible seats and all-in-one seats.
The committee said that most children will outgrow an infant seat before they reach the age of 2, so they can then use the larger rear-facing convertible or all-in-one seat that has higher rear-facing height and weight limits.
The seats should be installed in the rear-facing position until the child reaches the rear-facing weight or height limit set by the car seat manufacturer.
While some parents said keeping toddlers in rear-facing seats, as the law now requires, will cramp their legs and body, that is no excuse for not making the swap, WKBW Channel 7 reported.
State Police Troop A spokesman Trooper James O’Callaghan said you won’t get out of a ticket that way.
“[W]hen it comes to safety, go by the guidelines. That is what’s going to keep them safe,” he told WKBW.