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Many kids must use car booster seats until age 8 under new law

Video: Booster seat laws to change

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Jim Witmer/Staff photographer Kirsten Holloway, assistant manager of the Babies "R" Us at 2661 Miamisburg Centerville Road, holds a Graco Youth Booster Seat in the car seat display aisle. A new law will take effect Oct. 7 requiring older, taller kids to use booster seats.

By Mark Fisher, Staff Writer Updated 8:40 AM Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Children ages 4 to 8 who are passengers in an auto accident are three times more likely to be admitted to Children’s Medical Center of Dayton than children younger than 4 — because their injuries tend to be more severe, or even life-threatening.

That, says Lisa Schwing, the medical center’s trauma program manager who compiled the accident data, shows the power of the child-safety seat. And it’s precisely why kids from age 4 until their eighth birthday belong in a booster seat that will increase their chances of surviving a crash and lessen their injuries, Schwing said.

Starting Wednesday, Oct. 7, child-safety advocates will gain one more argument in their efforts to persuade parents to buckle their older children into protective seats and seat belts: It’s the law.

The new state law will require children ages 4 through 7 to ride in a booster seat or other appropriate child safety seat unless the child is 4 feet, 9 inches or taller. Current law requires only that children younger than 4 years old or less than 40 pounds ride in a car seat.

“Children 4 to 8 are too small to be protected adequately by the car’s seat belt system, which is designed for an adult,” Schwing said. “Booster seats are designed to simply lift the child up so the child fits in a vehicle seat-belt system more like an adult.”

Without a booster seat, an adult seat belt can actually cause injury to a 4- to 8-year-old child in a crash rather than preventing it — and those injuries can range from liver lacerations to a ruptured spleen to spinal cord damage, Schwing said.

Although the new law takes effect next week, full enforcement won’t begin until April 7, 2010. Until then, drivers will receive warnings. After that date, police can write a citation that fines violators $25 to $75 for a first offense. Police officers can write a citation only if they’ve stopped a driver for another reason.

A spot check at one of many local retailers that carry booster seats — Babies “R” Us at 2661 Miamisburg Centerville Road in Miami Twp. — showed about a dozen models ranging in price from $25 for a backless model to $279 for a high-backed, adjustable seat complete with cup holders.

Keep reading: Booster seats offer greater protection to kids, research shows

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