Driving with children always breeds anxiety. We constantly question whether we are doing the most to protect our children when we travel by motor vehicle. During the week of September 18-24, Pennsylvania observed Child Passenger Safety Week. Of course, being especially conscious of the safety of child passengers should be more than a weekly occurrence once a year.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued child restraint guidelines recommending infants be in a rear-facing car seat until they weigh at least 20 pounds and are at least one year old. The present body of research overwhelmingly confirms that children are safer in rear-facing car seats. The American Academy of Pediatrics explains a rear-facing car seat provides better protection for the head, neck and spine of an infant because it more evenly distributes the force of a collision over the entire body.
Pennsylvania previously required all children under the age of 4 be strapped into an 
approved car seat. However, the law did not specify how the car seat should be facing. A new 2016 Pennsylvania law changes this. Children under age 2 are now required to be secured in rear-facing child seats. Pennsylvania became the fourth state in the nation with such a law when Governor Wolf signed SB 1152 into law in June; the law took effect in August.
Pasafekids.org states that the best way to protect a child in a motor vehicle “is to use the right seat at the right time and the right way every time he/she rides.” Here are some other recommended tips to keep children safe in the vehicle:
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