Flathead Valley experts are celebrating a change in state law — effective Oct. 1 — that will require children to be in a car seat until they are 8 years old and those age 2 and under to be in a rear-facing seat.
“We really needed to make this law stronger,” Wendy Olson Hansen, a local child passenger safety technician instructor, told the Flathead County Board of Health last week.
Montana first enacted a car seat law in 1987. It required children under 6 years of age or weighing fewer than 60 pounds to be properly restrained in a car seat. But the law was vague and lacked detail, Hansen said. It was updated in 2003 and tweaked in 2009, but the change happening this year marks the law’s first major update.
State Rep. Marc Lee, a Butte Democrat, got the ball rolling by bringing House Bill 586 forward during the 2025 legislative session. It was signed into law after receiving bipartisan support.
Under the law, passengers under 2 years old must be in a rear-facing car seat; passengers from 2 to 4 years old must have a car seat with an internal harness; and passengers from 4 to 8 years old must be in a forward-facing seat or high back or backless booster seat.
After 8 years old, passengers should use booster seats until they outgrow height or weight requirements.
“It’s really about child safety. It’s about keeping our most precious cargo on the road as safe as possible,” Hansen said.
The overall trend for motor vehicle injury deaths is significantly higher in Montana than in the United States, according to the Montana Office of Vital Statistics. From 2019 to 2023, 49 Montana children under 14 years of age died in motor vehicle accidents, according to the report.
“We want to keep children in the most protected category for as long as possible, which is rear facing,” Hansen said of the new law.
It is imperative that car seats are installed and used correctly to protect a child in a wreck, she said. There are 295 car seat technicians in the Flathead Valley, Hansen said, and 15 car seat instructors.
Now that the law is changing, Hansen and other technicians are focusing on education by partnering with dealerships, talking to public safety officials and connecting with health care providers about the new requirements and, more importantly, the reason behind it, she said.
Rod Kuntz, a Health Board member, thanked Hansen for her work, sharing a story of a relative traveling with their children. The family was struck while going 70 mph, he said.
“The kids were shaken up but absolutely fine … so what you’re doing saves lives, no question,” Kuntz said.
Flathead County has several resources for buying and installing car seats, which can be found at flatheadcounty.gov/department-directory/health/population-health/car-seats.
The city of Kalispell encourages residents to call the Fire Department at 406-758-7760 and schedule an appointment for a car seat inspection. People can also contact the Flathead Health Department and make an appointment.