New California Law Changes Booster Seat Rules
A new California law aims to keep more short children in booster seats for longer, imposing fines if they can’t properly wear their seat belt.
Gavin Newsom signed a watered-down version of Assembly Bill 435, which originally proposed to ban smaller teenagers from sitting in the front seat and to require short-statured youth to use booster seats into their middle school years.
Currently, California law requires children to use booster seats until they turn 8 or reach a height of 4 foot 9 inches.
The new law changes the standards police officers use to determine if a child is tall enough to safely wear a seatbelt while riding in a vehicle, starting in 2027.
Enough of the Democrats who control the Legislature balked at ending the time-honored tradition of teens calling “shotgun” to ride in the front seat.
Author's summary: California updates booster seat rules.