Car seat safety is one of those topics where getting it wrong can cost a child their life. We’ve worked alongside families across North Dakota for years, and what we see again and again is that parents are genuinely trying to do the right thing. The problem is that the information out there is confusing, sometimes outdated, and the gap between “legal” and “safest” is wider than most people realize.
When crashes happen, the difference between a properly installed car seat and an improperly installed one can determine whether a child walks away. If your family has already been through a crash and you have questions about what happened, our car accident legal team is here to help you understand your options.
The LATCH System: What It Is and Where It Falls Short
LATCH stands for “Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children,” a system designed to simplify and strengthen the installation of child car seats. This standardized system is found in most vehicles and child car seats manufactured after 2002 in the United States.
There’s a fairly recent concern, driven by changes in car seat design and usage, that vehicle lower anchors may not be strong enough to hold heavier kids in heavier seats in some crashes. In a crash, the combined weight of the child AND car seat pulls on and stresses the lower anchors.
When using the LATCH system, the combined weight of your child and their car seat should not exceed the lower anchor weight limit listed in your vehicle and car seat manuals (often around 65 pounds total). That sounds straightforward enough. But consider this: if a seat weighs 25 pounds, the weight limit for the child is only 40 pounds, at which point parents need to start using the seat belt system instead of LATCH to install the car seat.
Many parents don’t realize their child has already outgrown LATCH. They keep using it because it seems secure, because they’ve always done it that way, and because nobody told them the math had changed. Excess weight could cause the lower anchors to detach during a motor vehicle crash.
Switching away from LATCH doesn’t mean the seat becomes less safe. Using the car’s seat belt to install your child safety seat is just as effective as using the LATCH system, as long as it is properly installed. And you should always install your child’s car seat using either the LATCH system or your vehicle’s seat belt, but not both at the same time unless both the car seat and vehicle manufacturers say it’s allowed.
Rear Facing vs. Forward Facing
North Dakota law requires children under 8 years old and under 57 inches tall to be secured in a child restraint system. The law does not specify type of car seat by age, but the state does provide recommendations for child safety. There is no legal specification for how long a child must ride in a rear-facing car seat in North Dakota.
The science behind rear-facing is genuinely compelling. During the most severe types of collisions, frontal and side impacts, a rear-facing child is cradled by the shell of their car seat, keeping their head, neck, and spine in alignment. When forward facing, the shoulders, neck, and head are thrown forward due to crash forces that can cause severe injury and even death. It doesn’t take much force to cause devastating injury to a developing body, and rear-facing allows the car seat to absorb more force away from the child.
Why does a young child’s body respond so differently to crash forces? Toddlers are not just small adults; their bodies are still developing and those developmental changes make them more vulnerable than an adult. A toddler’s vertebrae are connected via cartilage rather than ossified bone. That means the spinal column can stretch or compress in ways an adult spine cannot.
There’s also a head proportion issue that surprises many parents. A child’s immature spine is responsible for supporting a much larger proportion of body weight than an adult’s more mature spinal column. At birth, a baby’s head comprises about 25% of its total body length, while in an adult the head weighs about 8%. In a forward-facing seat, that heavy head snaps forward on a relatively weak neck.
For the best protection, North Dakota recommends a child ride rear-facing until the child reaches the maximum height or weight limit on their rear-facing car seat. This aligns with what national safety organizations recommend as well.
One thing we hear often: “My child’s legs look cramped.” But leg injuries from rear-facing seats are not documented in the research. The bodies of children in forward-facing seats are restrained by the harnesses, but in a crash the head is thrown forward, stressing, stretching or even breaking the spinal cord.
The Overhead Tether Strap
Most parents who come in for a car seat check have no idea what the tether strap is for. Some have never used it. Some have attached it to the wrong anchor point entirely. From October 2015 to December 2016, 64 percent of caregivers who came to a Safe Kids Buckle Up checkup event with a child in a forward-facing car seat were not using the tether.
The tether is a strap with a hook that secures the top of the car seat to the vehicle to keep it from pitching forward in a crash. Without it, that sudden forward motion can result in the child’s head hitting the back of the front seat, other occupants or even the console, causing serious harm.
More precisely: using the top tether is vital because it can prevent your child’s head from moving forward during a crash by up to six inches. That may mean the difference between your child sustaining head injuries from impacting the seat in front of them (or a side pillar) and sustaining minor or zero injuries during a collision.
Even when lower anchors or a seat belt are providing a strong foundation for the car seat, the tether adds stability to the top portion that those attachments cannot provide on their own. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends using the top tether every time a forward-facing car seat is installed.
Finding the tether anchor in your specific vehicle matters. In sedans, these are usually located above or behind the vehicle’s back seat on the rear shelf. In some larger vehicles such as vans, pickup trucks, and SUVs, these tether anchors may be found on the back of a vehicle seat, on the floor, the ceiling, or other locations.
North Dakota Law vs. What’s Actually Safe
North Dakota’s child restraint law may be enforced as a primary offense, meaning an officer can pull you over solely for observing an improperly restrained child. North Dakota recommends all children under 13 ride in the back seat. Children in rear-facing seats must never be placed in front of an active airbag.
But we encourage families to think beyond the legal minimum. The law sets a floor for compliance. What safety research tells us sets a ceiling for protection. Those two things are not always the same, and in a crash, the gap between them can matter enormously.
North Dakota Health and Human Services maintains a list of Car Seat Program Locations in the state. These locations have certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians on staff who can help you install a car seat by appointment. They can also check your installation if you’ve already installed the car seat yourself. We strongly encourage families across Burleigh County, Cass County, Grand Forks, Minot, and surrounding areas to take advantage of these free inspection resources. It takes an hour and could make all the difference.
When a Crash Happens Anyway
Even with a perfectly installed car seat, crashes cause injuries. If your child was injured in a crash caused by another driver’s negligence, a properly documented car seat installation can actually become relevant evidence in your case.
The legal questions that follow a crash are complicated, and they come at the worst possible time. Our team at Maring Williams Law Office serves families throughout North Dakota and we’re here to help you understand what your rights may be.
Car seat safety and legal protection go hand in hand. Protect your child on the road, and if the worst happens, know that legal support is available.
