Way to completely screw the law up again Michigan politicians. Effective today, 1/1/2015, Michigan has updated vehicle child restraint laws. Most of it is good stuff, requiring kids to be in safety seats and boosters until they are 10 years old, or 4 9 tall, and at least 50 pounds. Sure, kids will hate it, but theyll live...and thats the point...theyll live. However, politicians cant ever just get it all right, can they? Under the old law, once a child graduated out of a booster seat at 4 9 tall, they could sit anywhere, including the front seat, as long as the air bag could be turned off. This makes sense considering the seat belts are essentially designed and work the same everywhere in the vehicle. If it will keep them or me safe in the back, it will work just as well in the front. For some reason I just cant wrap my head around, that has changed. I first read that the new law says they have to be in the rear seat until they are 16 years old. That alone annoys me. I cant think of any logical reason for it. On top of that, kids can be eligible to start drivers training as young as 14 years, 9 months (depending on when their birthday is). How is that going to work if the law says they cant be in the front seat until theyre 16? But wait, it gets worse! Heres the actual text from the law itself (Senate Bill No. 1135): legislature.mi.gov/documents/2013-2014/billengrossed/Senate/pdf/2014-SEBS-1135.pdf A driver transporting a child as required under subsection 9 shall position the child in the child restraint system in a rear seat, if the vehicle is equipped with a rear seat. If all available rear seats are occupied by children, then a child may be positioned in the child restraint system in the front seat. If Im not mistaken, hasnt the law always stated that a person is a child until they are 18 years old? If thats true, how will a 15 year old take drivers training, or a 17 year old drive to work after school when the law says they have to be in a child restraint system in the rear seat? You may be shaking your head thinking this is common sense, but it matters. If the law contradicts itself, how is it to be followed and upheld? Cops are strict on young drivers (as they should be), but this gives any cop in a bad mood another perfectly legal way to write a ticket just because a child is in the front seat; even though hes a licensed driver. Are drivers ed instructors going to get ticketed for having a 15 year old in the front passenger seat? It could happen with the boneheaded wording in this law. Besides, like I said before, what is the point? If the airbag is turned off, how does the front seat belt offer less protection than the rear seat belt? Grr. Politicians.
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 04:14:22 +0000