Iowa vs Nebraska

Iowa and Nebraska meet at the Omaha and Council Bluffs metro, which straddles the Missouri River, so the rule that applies can change in the span of one bridge. Nebraska requires rear-facing until age 2, a forward-facing seat after that, a booster until age 8, and the back seat through age 8. Iowa requires rear-facing only under age 1, ends the required seat at age 6, and has no back-seat rule. So Nebraska requires rear-facing a year longer, keeps the booster two years longer, and locks in the back seat in a way Iowa does not, which makes it clearly the stricter state.

Nebraska requires all children up to age 2 to ride rear-facing until they outgrow the seat, and it requires a child up to age 8 to ride in a seat other than the front seat where one is available. Iowa requires rear-facing only for a child under 1 and under 20 pounds, and it has no back-seat rule. So a Nebraska parent can be cited for turning a 15-month-old forward or seating a 6-year-old up front, while an Iowa parent cannot. These two rules, rear-facing under 2 and the back seat through age 8, are where a family crossing the river will notice the change most.

Nebraska keeps a child in a child restraint or booster until age 8, and it uses age rather than a 4 feet 9 inch shortcut, so even a tall child stays in. Iowa allows the seat belt from age 6 with no height condition. The practical effect is that a 6 or 7 year old of average size rides with the seat belt in Iowa but stays in a booster in Nebraska. Both states fall short of the American Academy of Pediatrics guidance to keep a child boostered until the belt actually fits, but Nebraska comes closer.

The law that applies is the law of the state you are physically driving in, which is unusually relevant here because tens of thousands of families commute daily across the Missouri River between Omaha and Council Bluffs on I-80, I-480, and I-29. To stay legal across the whole trip, follow Nebraska's stricter rules: rear-face under 2, keep a child in a booster until age 8, and seat them in the back. A family moving from Iowa to Nebraska picks up a longer rear-facing stage, two extra booster years, and a back-seat requirement at once.