History of Car Seat Laws

The idea of car seats had been around since the turn of the 20th century, but real progress toward mass use of car seats was not on the horizon until the 1960's.  Up until that time, car seats were mainly used to confine a child to their seat and make them easier to see for parents looking in the rearview mirror, but safety was not much of a concern. Many of us can hardly envision a world where car seats are not mandatory, but it wasn't until the late 1970's and early 1980's that child restraints became mandatory throughout the United States.

It took years of red tape to get car seat use signed into law and the real catalyst came in 1966 when congress passed a bill called the Twin Highway Acts which gave power to the Department of Transportation to decide vehicle safety design features.  This began the process of making it mandatory for car owners to use a government approved child car seat. 

Throughout the United States, Canada and the rest of the developed world, child car seats are required by law when driving with infants and young children in the car.  Even though we now know the importance of having a child seat properly installed in an automobile, thousands of children are still injured or killed each year by the improper use of child seat or the lack of them.