A North Texas lawmaker has filed a bill he hopes will keep young children safe in the car. It's something many parents are already doing: keeping their child in a car set facing backward.
State Rep. Chris Turner, D-Arlington and Grand Prairie, introduced legislation to ensure kids are in backward facing car seats for two years or until they grow out of the weight limits of the seat manufacturer.
Turner commented on the legislation on his web page, saying "Keeping kids safe should always be our top priority."
"This bill will help inform parents and others about car seat safety and the need to keep children rear-facing longer," he said.
A trauma injury prevention specialist at Cook Children’s Medical Center said a rear-facing car seat is the safest way to travel because a young child’s spinal cord is not completely developed yet.
As for some kids being too big to ride in them, experts say most seats are now made to hold at least 35 pounds.
NBC 5 spoke to one mother who was buckling her 1-year-old into a rear-facing car seat.
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“I have a friend who is a policeman, and our pediatrician also said that is the safest place for her. So that is what we do,” said mother Candis Linscott.
