Indiana vs Michigan

These two Great Lakes neighbors take opposite approaches to detail, and Michigan's is far more prescriptive. Michigan writes out a full ladder: rear-facing until age 2, a forward-facing seat with a harness until age 5, a booster until age 8 or 4 feet 9 inches, and a back-seat rule for the youngest children. Indiana uses a single rule for the entire stretch: a child under 8 must be in a child restraint system used according to the manufacturer's instructions, with no rear-facing age, no forward-facing age, and no height test. Because Michigan names a rear-facing requirement and a back-seat rule that Indiana lacks, it is the stricter state, even though Indiana wins on one point at the very end of the booster stage.

Michigan requires a child to ride rear-facing until age 2, then forward-facing with a harness until age 5, and it requires a child under 4 to sit in the rear seat if the vehicle has one. Indiana requires none of these by age; it asks only that whatever restraint is used follows the manufacturer's instructions. So a Michigan parent can be cited for turning a one-year-old forward or for putting a 3-year-old's seat up front, while an Indiana parent cannot. Rear-facing and the back seat are recommended in both states as best practice, but Michigan makes them law for young children.

Indiana ends the child restraint requirement at a flat age 8 with no height shortcut, so every child under 8 must be in a restraint regardless of how tall they are. Michigan releases a child at age 8 OR once they reach 4 feet 9 inches, whichever comes first, which lets a tall younger child move to the seat belt early. That makes Indiana stricter for a tall 6 or 7 year old: that child rides in a booster in Indiana but could legally use the seat belt in Michigan. It is a narrow advantage, and it does not outweigh Michigan's rear-facing and back-seat requirements on the overall tally, but it is a real difference for bigger kids.

Neither statute prints a fixed dollar fine. A Michigan violation is a civil infraction with no license points, and the amount is set by the court's civil infraction schedule. An Indiana violation is a Class D infraction, with the amount set by the infraction schedule rather than stated in the section. The rule that applies is the rule of the state you are driving in. Indiana and Michigan meet along I-69, I-94, and US 31 between Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and the Michigan line. To stay legal across the whole trip, follow the stricter rule at each stage: rear-face until age 2 and seat young children in the back (Michigan), and keep any child under 8 in a booster even if they are already 4 feet 9 inches (Indiana).