I suppose a parent could ignore the law ....
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I think the root issue with kids in car seats (or small kids) in the front passenger seat is the airbags because when they go off, they are apt to injure/kill the kids. I’m sure there are laws about kids having to be in the back seats because of this, but to change anything, I suspect you’d have to have no passenger side airbags or be able to disable them .... doubt if that will happen.
From what I remember, those laws were introduced because of front end crashes. Could be wrong, of course.
I also hate air bags. A good friend of mine - a 5’4” woman - got burned horribly when she was in an accident at the wheel of her car. No one mentions how hot those bags are.