Rear facing car seats

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Donna B

Guest
Does anyone know if it is an Illinois state law to have your child in a rear facing carseat until the age of 1? Or is it just a strongly recommended option?
 
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abacus2

Well-known member
Illinois State Law Wording
"When any person is transporting a child in this State under the age of 8 years in a non‑commercial motor vehicle of the first division, a motor vehicle of the second division with a gross vehicle weight rating of 9,000 pounds or less, or a recreational vehicle on the roadways, streets or highways of this State, such person shall be responsible for providing for the protection of such child by properly securing him or her in an appropriate child restraint system."

Since the law requires an "appropriate child restraint system," children must be RFing to a minimum of 1 year AND 20 lbs. This is an absolute safety requirement and is listed in car seat manuals as a requirement. Not RFing a child under 1 year puts them at serious risk of dying (even in an accident where others aren't injured) when their spinal cord is damaged because babies' neck bones can stretch further than the spinal cord can.

Check out thecarseatlady.com to learn more about why RFing is required.
 
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Donna B

Guest
My son is almost 7 months old, and I do not intend on putting him forward facing until at least one year old. I noticed another mom dropping off her child at daycare and her seat was forward. I know that her daughter is only 8 months old and was not sure what the law actually stated. I want to say something to her, but didn't want to give wrong information.
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
My son is almost 7 months old, and I do not intend on putting him forward facing until at least one year old. I noticed another mom dropping off her child at daycare and her seat was forward. I know that her daughter is only 8 months old and was not sure what the law actually stated. I want to say something to her, but didn't want to give wrong information.

What seat is he in? The AAP recommends that kids RF until the maximum weight limit of the seat (not the infant seat, the convertible they go into next). The lowest convertible RFing weight limit is 30 pounds, the highest is 35. So hopefully your son will stay RFing for many more years. :)

I hope the other mother realizes what danger her daughter is in. At that age (the risk decreases until age 6 when the bones in the neck completely ossify) the vertebrae can move up to 2", but the spinal column can only move 1/4". It's called internal decapitation. The baby would look like she's sleeping. :-(

Wendy
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
Technically, the law does not require rear-facing in Illinois. "Appropriate" could be at the whim of the officer writing a ticket, you'd be at the mercy of how much they knew about carseats and whether or not you wanted to fight it in traffic court.

Might as well just be safe, both in regards to the welfare of your child and for your driving record and pocketbook in regards to a citation.

Also: http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html

And Illinois CPS Resources: http://www.seatcheck.net
 

abacus2

Well-known member
Enforcement and what the law says can be 2 different things. Whether a police officer understands the law does not change the law, it simply means that some police officers need more training. The law says "appropriate" and it is impossible to use any car seat "appropriately" FFing for an under 1 year old as none of the car seats on the market's instructions allow for a 1 year old to be FFing. Granted, there are some 20lb limit RFing seats still around that might allow FFing before 1 year, but most people have seats newer than this and before long all of these seats will be expired and won't be able to be used at all "appropriately." For example, the law in Tennessee requires a FFing child restraint (clearly different from the boosters required from age 4 to 8) to age 4 with no exceptions for being over 40 lbs, but I'd say the chances of being ticketed for having a 2 or 3 year old in a booster are approximately zero. A lot of people think boosters are just a type of car seat with the only difference between using a harness or a seatbelt being convenience.
 

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