GOV. ABBOTT VETOES CHILD CAR SEAT LEGISLATION
Governor Greg Abbott has vetoed a bill that would have required children under age 2 to be secured in rear-facing car seats while in a moving vehicle.
Abbot says House Bill 448, authored by state Democrat Chris Turner of Grand Prairie, "is an unnecessary invasion of parental rights."
Turner says the legislation would "help clarify Texas' confusing car seat law and put it in line with Texas Department of Public Safety, Department of Transportation and Department of State Health Services recommendations."
The measure would have provided exceptions for babies and toddlers who are taller than 40 inches, weigh more than 40 pounds or have a medical condition that prevents them from sitting in a rear-facing car seat.
Texas law already requires children younger than 8 years old or shorter than 57 inches to be secured in a car seat, but does not specifically mention car safety guidelines for children under 2 years old.
The American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines recommend children stay in rear-facing car seats for as long as possible.
If the law had passed, Texas would have joined 14 other states that have passed similar car seat regulations.
As parents and grandparents, we owe it to our children to protect them. Even if the law doesn’t require it. If you love your children, keep them rearfacing as the AAP states. Do it in spite of the law.
What about the child’s rights to protection from unnecessary death or injury? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends rear facing car seats for children and infants under age two. Twenty three states have laws requiring rear facing seats for children under age 2. Why does this governor care more about children in the womb than the newborn infant? Whose interests is he serving? This decision makes no sense.
Thank you Gov Abbot….. Finally you do something that’s worth complimenting.. It is my decision as a parent as to where my kids ride at in our vehicle… I do not need the state or government telling me how to be a parent..