Britney Spears Lashes Out at Latest Child Vehicle Charges  5/17/06

Pregnant pop star Britney Spears insists she did nothing wrong when she drove her Mini Cooper convertible with son Sean Preston slumped forward in his car seat in the rear of the vehicle.

The Toxic singer sparked outrage when photographs appeared of her eight-month-old son strapped in the backseat of her car facing forward instead of backward, which is the safer direction for car seats according to California motor-vehicle code.

According to the code, babies who weigh 20 pounds (9 kilograms) or who are less than a year old should have their car seats facing backward.

California Highway Patrol spokesman Tom Marshall says, "The seat is facing the wrong way. We like it when the child's head is facing back."

The singer's representatives have rejected the criticism, stating that because the baby is already over 20 pounds, he is allowed to face forward.

In a statement, a spokesperson says, "It has been reported that there is a photo of Britney Spears driving with her child sitting in a forward-facing child safety seat in the back seat of the car.

"Having a child in the child safety seat facing forward in the rear seat of the car is in compliance with California law.

"There is no law in California requiring rear-facing seats. In fact, there are only ten states that require a child to be in a rear-facing seat, and in two of those states it is not required if the infant is more than 20 pounds.

"Britney's son Sean weighs over 20 pounds. As such, Britney Spears was in total compliance with California law with the forward-facing child safety car seat with the baby strapped in properly in the back of the car."

Spears has already received two visits from the Department of Children and Family Services - one in February (06), after she was photographed driving with her son sitting on her lap and one in April (06), when her son fell out of his highchair and injured his head. No action was taken in either case.