Teens in California May Soon Be Able to Ride Shotgun at 16—No More Height Restrictions

An assembly measure in California seeks to raise the age of shotgun riding from adolescents to sixteen.

Last Thursday, the Assembly Transportation Committee advanced the bill.

In California, children who are at least 4’9″ or 8 years old are currently exempt from the height limit and are allowed to travel in the passenger seat.

“So the best thing to do to keep your child safe while riding in a vehicle matches what our law is,” Assemblymember Lori Wilson, who wrote Assembly Bill 435, stated.

Wilson stated that safety is the focus of the bill.

“It really is to take into consideration all the varying types of seats that we sit on in the car,” Wilson stated.

A five-point test would be used in place of the height requirement.

This would entail ensuring that the child’s knees are appropriately over the seat and that their back can comfortably contact the back of the seat.

The shoulder strap should therefore touch the chest rather than the neck, and the lower portion of the seatbelt should hit the hips rather than the stomach.

Finally, the youngster should be able to hold this posture without slouching or straining.

“It’s where the seatbelt sits,” Wilson stated. “And so some cars are equipped with adjustments for a seatbelt.”

According to Wilson, a child who fails the exam in one car does not necessarily fail it in another.

But according to the measure, kids under the age of 13 who don’t pass the exam must wear a booster seat.

Students at Modesto Junior College, however, claim that the cost doesn’t add up.

“How is this properly enforceable? Unless we are going to start pulling people aside who look short,” a student stated.

Another student stated that, “I think it’s strange. Mostly because there are already all these protections to make sure minors are protected and get their licenses safe.”

“This is about safety,” Wilson said. “This is about making sure that if something happens, you are safe, and I think that’s the key thing that we’re trying to drive home is that it is not about treating people like babies.”

Wilson stated that they might lower the age from 16 to 13. However, there is still much work to be done on this measure.

The Assembly Transportation Committee did approve the bill, and it will now move on to appropriations. However, it’s unclear when that will occur yet.

This information has been sourced from CBS News.