Child restraintsUnited States
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194. Child restraints
Child restraints are safety systems designed to protect children travelling in vehicles. They include rear-facing and forward-facing child seats and booster seats that position and restrain a child according to their size and the restraint system's specifications.
A child restraint should be suitable for the child and vehicle, installed according to the manufacturer's instructions and secured correctly on every journey. Rear-facing restraints must never be placed in front of an active frontal airbag.
Wikimedia.org • Pieter Kuiper • CC BY-SA
Is there one child-seat law for the entire United States?
No. Individual states set the legal child-restraint requirements. NHTSA recommends choosing a restraint by the child’s age and size and keeping children in the rear seat through age 12; check the applicable state law.
🔗 nhtsa.gov • NHTSA — state laws and age/size restraint recommendations, rear seat through age12

Traffic rules
United States