Car seat laws in New York

A child under 2 must ride in a rear-facing child safety seat. If the child is taller or heavier than the seat maker's rear-facing limits, the seat may face forward. NHTSA and the AAP recommend going further: keeping your child rear-facing as long as possible, until they reach the top height or weight limit allowed by the car seat's manufacturer. A child under age 1 should always ride rear-facing, and most convertible seats allow rear-facing for 2 years or more.

Children 4 through 7 must ride in an appropriate child restraint system (a car seat or booster) used with the lap and shoulder belt, or a lap belt if no lap and shoulder belt is available. It is a defense to a ticket if the child is belted and is taller than 4'9" or heavier than 100 pounds. NHTSA and the AAP recommend going further: using a belt-positioning booster seat after your child outgrows the harnessed seat, until the vehicle seat belt fits properly, typically when they reach about 4 feet 9 inches tall and are 8 to 12 years old. The AAP says an adult seat belt fits when: the shoulder belt lies across the middle of the chest and shoulder, not the neck or throat; the lap belt is low and snug across the upper thighs, not the belly; and the child is tall enough to sit against the vehicle seat back with knees bent over the edge of the seat without slouching, and can stay that way for the whole trip. NHTSA uses the same lap-belt and shoulder-belt checks. The 5-step test, which California writes into law from January 1, 2027, asks: 1) Does the child sit all the way back against the seat? 2) Do the knees bend over the edge of the seat? 3) Does the shoulder belt snugly cross the center of the chest and shoulder, not the neck? 4) Is the lap belt as low as possible, touching the thighs? 5) Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?

No New York law says where in the car a child must sit. The Governor's Traffic Safety Committee recommends the back seat for all children under 13. NHTSA and the AAP recommend keeping all children younger than 13 in the back seat.

A violation carries a civil fine of $25 to $100, plus 3 driver license points for a restraint violation involving a passenger under 16. For a child under 8, the court waives the fine if the driver shows they bought or rented a proper child restraint before the court date. The waiver doesn't apply to a second or later conviction.

NHTSA's locator lists 278 car seat inspection stations in New York, in 201 cities and towns. Rochester has the most (12), then Schenectady (6). NHTSA flags 5 of them as Spanish-speaking. Certified technicians check seats for free in most cases. Search NHTSA's locator by ZIP code and call the station before you go.