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 A In January of 2002, one of the first major rulings enacted by Dr. Jeffrey W. Runge, the new chief of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, was about when to use booster seats. A former emergency room doctor, Dr. Runge recommended that "all children who have outgrown child safety seats should be properly restrained in booster seats until they are at least eight years old, unless they are 4'9" tall. Very, very few children less than eight fit into an adult belt properly. Therefore we have chosen the 8th birthday as the cutoff point, under which it should be illegal to ride without a booster seat."
Research shows that the minimum thresholds for use of three-point safety belts was a seated height of 29 inches, a standing height of 4 feet 10 inches and a weight of 81 pounds, which most children do not reach until age 10-to-11 1/2.
Recommending and codifying the use of belt-positioning booster seats in not a matter of government and AAA trying to tell parents how to raise their children. However, parents don't come with a 'parenting-chip' - sometimes they need a law to help guide responsible parenting.
AAA knows that by passing a booster seat law, we will significantly increase the awareness and use of these important safety tools, thus saving precious lives. Until that time, we need to spread the word among our friends, neighbors and families that children must use a booster seat after they grow out of their toddler seat until they are big enough to fit properly into an adult belt.
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AAA Southern New England, all rights reserved |
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