Officials are telling parents to get ready now for new rules about their kids riding in cars. There's just a little over a month to prepare for the changes.
Do you have a pre-teen who now rides shotgun? You better convince that kid to return to the back seat.
"To anyone who is transporting a child under the age of 13, they will be expected to comply with this new law which is effective August 1," said Louisiana Highway Safety Commission Executive Director Lisa Freeman.
Freeman says she believes most parents have been making sure kids 12 and under ride in the back, anyway, but this is the first time Louisiana has put it into law.
"Very prudent parents defaulted, I think, to keeping children in the back seat, but there was not codified, mandatory piece of legislation requiring that," she explained.
The law now requires babies to ride in rear-facing infant seats through age 2. Children will have to be in a seat with an internal harness through age four, and in a booster seat until the age of nine.
