Kids in Oregon would have to sit in rear-facing car seats until they turn 2 under a bill being considered by state lawmakers.
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Current law only requires that infants ride in rear-facing seats until age 1, but advocates for changing the law told a legislative panel Tuesday that a change would protect children.
Benjamin Hoffman, pediatrician at Oregon Health & Science University, told lawmakers that rear-facing seats spread the impact of a collision across a wider area of a child's body.
"The point of this law is not to punish families but to help establish new norms for behavior," Hoffman said. "We know that while the law of the land can change, the laws of physics never do. And we need to be conscious of that to be able to protect kids in the greatest possible way."
Four states, including California, currently require children to sit rear-facing until they turn 2. The measure appeared to have broad support among members of the House Committee on Early Childhood and Family Supports. Its chief sponsor is freshman Democratic Rep. Sheri Malstrom of Beaverton, who sits on the panel.
"This is something that's been near and dear to my heart for many years," she said.
Rep. Cedric Hayden, a Roseburg Republican, said he supports the idea, but worries that well-intentioned parents might end up getting tickets if they don't know about the changes to the car seat law.
"We need to give our parents the opportunity to figure it out without being threatened with a ticket," Hayden said. He suggested a 12-month transitional period in which drivers receive a warning instead of a ticket.
Malstrom said she would be open to that idea. So did Kevin Campbell, a lobbyist for the Oregon Association Chiefs of Police.
"That isn't a problem in my mind at all," Campbell said. "I think likely officers today are not as concerned about issuing tickets on this. It really is about public safety."