NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards signed a bill into law Saturday that changes existing laws for child passenger safety seats starting later this year.
As of Aug. 1, 2019, any child who is younger than 2 years old must be restrained in a rear-facing child safety seat until they reach its weight or height limit.
A child that is older than 2 years old and has outgrown the rear-facing child safety seats must be restrained in a forward-facing child safety seat with an internal harness until they reach its weight or height limit.
A child who at least 4 years old and has outgrown the forward-facing safety seats must be restrained by a belt-positioning booster seat secured with a seat belt.
A child who is at least nine years old or has outgrown the booster seat can use the car's adult seat belt if it fits correctly on their body. That means that when the child sits all the way back against the vehicle's seat, their knees bend over the edge of the seat, the belt fits snugly across their thighs and lower hips and not abdomen and the shoulder strap crosses the center of the child's chest and not the neck.
Any children under the age of 13 must also be in a rear seat when available.
The new rules were established under Act No. 51, formerly Senate Bill 76. The bill was authored by Democrat Sen. Gregory Tarver.