Floridas Child Seat Laws Weakest in Nation

The debate is heated over whether Florida’s child seat laws are effective enough to keep our kids safe. The fact is, Florida law only requires children under age four to be seated in a specialized safety seat, making our states regulations the most lax in the nation.

A recent story from The Palm Beach Post discussed Florida’s history of controversial child seat laws and the criticism they’ve received from groups like AAA and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Statistically, the leading cause of death of children 13 years old and younger is a car crash scenario. Advocates for stricter child safety seat regulations are concerned that lack of legislation is putting this group at further risk.

On Mar. 6, 2014, the states transportation committee passed a bill requiring children under 4-foot-9-inches or 7 years old to be seated in a federally-approved device, but it will take more votes to see this become law.

The medical director of St. Marys Medical Jessica Prince weighed in on the discussion, saying that the injuries sustained from improper child seat belt use are so frequent she sees these patients nearly every day.

Parents, medical professionals and lawmakers are speaking out about the importance of new legislation to regulate child restraint use, and the Posts Facebook page exploded in response to its story.

One poster said, Is it really the states job to protect the children? Or maybe its the parents job? Anyone that wishes to use a child booster seat can do so

Another referenced Floridas lack of texting-and-driving legislation. Clearly this debate is just beginning.

What do you think? Should Florida law require children under a certain age and height to be seated in a federally-approved seat, or is it the parents responsibility to enforce safety precautions?