Indiana's Rules for Children Riding in the Front Seat of a Car

Every state sets its own rules to protect children riding in vehicles from injury during accidents. The state of Indiana does not have specific laws stipulating when children should ride in the front seat. However, it's always safer for children to ride in the back seat of the car, if possible; most car seat manufacturers recommend that parents place their seats in the back for maximum safety.

  1. Rear-Facing Seats

    • All infants and children up to age 2 should ride in rear-facing car seats, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These seats should never be placed in the front seat in any vehicle with front seat airbags. If the airbag deploys, it will push the seat and the child's head directly into the seat back, possibly causing serious or fatal injury. The safest place for rear-facing seats is in the middle of the back seat.

    Front-Facing Seats

    • When your child exceeds the height or weight limits of rear-facing seats, you can put him in a forward-facing seat. While Indiana law doesn't mandate that child car restraints be placed in the back seat, this is the safest place for them. A Children's Hospital of Philadelphia study published in the June 2009 issue of Traffic Injury Prevention found that putting children age 0 to 15 in the rear seat reduced the risk of injury to 50 to 66 percent.

    Boosters

    • Children up to age 8 must use an approved car seat or booster in Indiana. The law doesn't require that these safety seats be used in the back seat only, but the back seat provides the greatest amount of protection from injury for your child up until at least age 13, according to the CDC. Airbag deployment can cause serious injury to front seat occupants shorter than 4 feet, 9 inches, the CDC warns.

    Children in Seatbelts

    • Children age 8 and above can ride in the car using seat belts in Indiana. The law states that children weighing more than 40 pounds can wear lap belts only if the vehicle does not have shoulder belts. The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute recommends having the front passenger airbag deactivated if you must have a child under age 13 ride in the front seat of your vehicle.

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