By Diana Lopez
Key takeaways:
- NC lawmakers are considering changes to the Child Passenger Restraint Systems Law.
- Weight would not be the only factor for when a child graduates to the adult seat belt system.
- The height of a child would play a much larger role in how they’re belted into cars and trucks.
North Carolina could soon have new child motor vehicle passenger safety rules that put more emphasis on the height of a child than on their weight.
Legislation that has been making its way through the state legislature over the past two years could mean that some children have to return to booster seats.
A proposal to revise the Child Passenger Restraint Systems Law cleared the state House of Representatives in a unanimous vote on April 29, 2025. The state Senate didn’t take up the issue until earlier this June — more than a year later.
The law currently states that any child who is younger than 8 years old and less than 80 pounds must be secured while riding in a motor vehicle in a weight-appropriate child passenger restraint system. The biggest modification proposed in House Bill 368, passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 16, is that the need for a car seat would instead be based on height. Children younger than 8 and smaller than 4 feet, 9 inches tall would be required to ride in a car seat.
That means some children might have to return to booster seats if they don’t meet the height requirement. It’s similar to some amusement park rules that require children to be a certain height so they won’t slip out of harnesses and belts meant to keep them safer.
“It is more important based on the height of the child of where the seat belt will properly apply across the chest or the shoulders in a vehicle,” said Rep. Donnie Loftis (R-Gastonia), primary sponsor of the bill, during the meeting on June 16.
Another addition is that car seats for infants must face the rear of the car in the back seat.
Lastly, the bill requires that drivers who transport passengers younger than 16 must have them properly secured with seat belts or car seats. North Carolina’s Seat Belt Law requires that all drivers and passengers 16 and older wear seat belts in the front and back seats.
“This bill is designed to really protect children that we now see as being taller,” Loftis said.
Loftis added that focusing on where seat belts ride on a child’s body protects them more than just using weight as the deciding factor for whether to move them out of booster seats.
Major cause of death
The bill, primarily sponsored by Reps. Loftis, Howard Penny Jr. (R-Coats), Stephen Ross (R-Burlington) and Paul Scott (R-Ellenboro), takes recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Safety Labs and the Child Fatality Task Force, a state body that gives lawmakers recommendations on how to improve child health.
Modifying this bill was on the task force’s 2026 Action Agenda to:
- Educate people about the importance of younger children riding in the back seat.
- Clarify the need for toddlers and infants to ride in rear-facing seats.
- Add new regulations and make it clear about what measures should be followed as a child progresses from car seats and booster seats to adult seat belts.
A big motivation for the proposed legislation is 2024 data from the state Department of Health and Human Services showing that motor vehicle injuries were among the leading causes of death for children younger than 18. Of the total 1,386 deaths that year, 111 were related to motor vehicle injuries, making them the fourth-highest cause of death.
The Child Fatality Task Force’s May 12 report to the governor, lawmakers and state secretary of health and human services offers more details. In 2024, the report states, 45 North Carolina children age 14 and younger died as a result of motor vehicle accidents.
“Proper use and placement of the right kind of child passenger safety seat (car seats and booster seats) to suit various stages of child growth and development can impact whether a child suffers injury or death in the event of a motor vehicle crash,” the report adds.
The state’s current child passenger safety law, according to the report, “differs from the best practice recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Evidence shows that children are more likely to ride in the recommended type of child restraint when their state’s law includes wording that follows best practice recommendations.”
Jill Cox, co-chair of the task force, said in a prepared statement announcing some of the group’s legislative recommendations, that preventable causes kill too many children. “We can save lives through evidence-driven reforms to state laws and by prioritizing funding for strategies proven to protect children.”
Peg O’Connell, steering committee chair of Safe Kids North Carolina — a coalition led by the North Carolina Department of Insurance and Office of State Fire Marshal that aims to reduce preventable injuries in children — was at the June 16 committee meeting when the proposed legislation was discussed. “This will keep our kids safe in the back seat and in properly installed child safety seats as they grow and hopefully come to adulthood,” O’Connell told lawmakers.
The proposed legislation was then sent to the Senate committee on Rules and Operations, which plays a key role in deciding which proposals will go to the full Senate for a vote. That committee has not yet taken up the child passenger safety proposal.
The post NC lawmakers consider changes to vehicle child seat laws appeared first on North Carolina Health News.
