Workman Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers | May 28, 2025 | Car Accidents
As a parent, you want to protect your child and keep them safe from harm. If your older child is begging you to sit in the front seat, you might be tempted to let them. But should you? What does Florida law say on the matter, and what is best for your child’s safety? We answer these probing questions below.
Why Is the Back Seat Recommended for Kids?
You may have heard your doctor or another safety professional recommend that your child always sit in the back seat. But why?
This is due primarily to airbags, which became mandatory on all passenger vehicles in the model year 1999 and after. If you are ever involved in a car accident while your young child is riding in the car, the airbag could hit their car seat, potentially making contact with your child’s head and causing fatal harm.
Even if your child is old enough to ride out of a car seat or booster seat, they might not be tall enough to benefit from a front-seat airbag. This is why the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under the age of 13 always ride in the back seat. Many car manufacturers also recommend that children under the age of 13 not ride in the front seat.
Florida Front Seat Laws
Even though it is recommended that your child not sit in the front seat, Florida does not have a law on this topic.
The state’s driver’s handbook warns parents that deploying airbags can kill children in the front seat. Instead, it says children under 13 should be secured in the rear seat and instructs parents never to place a rear-facing car seat in front of an airbag.
The driver’s handbook notes that the best child seat is one that fits your child and your car and can be used correctly every time. It urges parents to read the car seat’s instruction manual and the portion of the vehicle manual related to car seat installation. It notes that parents can be fined if they do not comply with the relevant car seat laws.
Florida Car Seat Laws
The car seat and belt requirements for children depend on the child’s age, height, and weight.
According to Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FHSMV), car seat requirements include the following:
- Rear-facing car seat: The FHSMV notes that rear-facing car seats installed in the back seat are the safest option for children under age two. Many rear-facing only car seats have weight limits of around 20-35 pounds, but convertible models allow the child to remain rear-facing for longer.
- Front-facing car seat: The FHSMV says that a child should remain in a rear-facing car seat until they reach the top height or weight limit allowed by the seat’s manufacturer, usually until age two or three.
- Booster seat: Florida requires children four and five years old to be in a safety seat or booster seat. It says children should remain in a booster seat until they are big enough to fit in a seat belt properly, which requires the lap belt to fit snugly across their upper thighs and the shoulder belt snugly across the shoulder.
- Seat belt: Florida law requires all drivers, front seat passengers, and passengers under the age of 18 to wear seat belts.
Following all relevant safety rules can help prevent your child from being seriously injured in the event of an accident.
Contact an Experienced Car Accident Lawyer for Help
By following Florida’s laws about child safety in the car, you can try to minimize your children’s injuries in the event of a car accident. However, even if they were in the correct car seat for their age and size, they may still sustain significant injuries in a wreck. If so, you should contact an experienced Clermont car accident lawyer about pursuing compensation for any injuries.
For more information, please contact an experienced car accident lawyer at Workman Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation.
We proudly serve Fort Lauderdale, Clermont, and its surrounding areas:
Workman Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers
633 S Andrews Ave Ste 401, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
(954) 361-3997
Workman Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers
1655 E Hwy 50 ste 316, Clermont, FL 34711
(352) 77-33866