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Parents have mixed views on car seat bill
Published May 16, 2009
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been modified to correct the age requirement in the legislation.
LAKE JACKSON — Emily Tanner still puts her 7-year-old, the eldest of her three young daughters, in a booster seat when they get in the car.
“I like her in it for now,” Tanner said.
Many parents in the Brazoria County area said they liked a proposal that would require children 8 years old and younger or less than 4 feet, 9 inches tall to be strapped into a booster seat. But parents said ultimately it should be their choice whether their child uses one.
The booster seats also can cost from $40 to more than $100.
Texas senators passed amendments to Senate Bill 61 on Friday after it passed the House early in the week. It now goes to Gov. Rick Perry’s desk for his signature or veto. If he signs it into law, it would take effect in June 2010 and require children to sit in a booster seat until either they grow taller than 4 feet, 9 inches or reach their 8th birthday.
State Reps. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, and Randy Weber, R-Pearland, and state Sen. Mike Jackson, R-Shoreacres, voted against the bill. State Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Southside Place, voted in favor of it.
Those who support the bill said it will make it safer for older children and prevent fatalities on the road.
Among children between 3 and 13 years old, injuries from car wrecks are the leading cause of death, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports.
If children 8 and younger or shorter than 4-foot-9 were in booster seats, however, it would save Texas about $17 million annually in health care costs, according to a report by the Texas Department of Public Safety. That same report states proper use of a booster seat reduces risk of injury by 60 percent.
That report was issued in 2006 after a law was enacted raising the age requirement for safety seats from 4 to 5 years old.
Department of Public Safety Sgt. David Janak said booster seats are needed for children who are not big enough to wear a seat belt.
“You want it to fall between the neck and the shoulders,” he said.
If a child is too small for a seat belt, it will rest too close to their necks, he said.
“It could result in a serious neck injury,” Janak said.
Lake Jackson pediatrician Lucy Ryan said she agreed with the law.
“The booster seat puts them in an area that fits them more properly,” she said.
If sitting in the car with only a seat belt, “most of them wiggle out of it,” she said.
Paula Jones had her children in child seats until they were about 4 years old, and the current bill might force her 10-year-old daughter Ashlyn Jones to use one since she’s under the required height.
“She’s about that big now,” said Jones, of West Columbia. “She wouldn’t be comfortable in one.”
Donna Crim works for a Lake Jackson preschool and said, while the law is well-meaning, parents should determine whether the child sits with a seat belt or a safety seat.
“I have an 11-year-old son who doesn’t weigh 40 pounds,” she said. “Are you going to put him in a booster seat? I think at some point it has to be the parent’s choice.”
Clute mother Amanda Wessells said the law makes sense and she intends to put her 2-year-old son in a booster seat until he is old enough. While parents should use the seats to prevent accidents, they also should ensure their children are secured, she said.
“A lot of boosters seats don’t fit properly,” she said.
Jones said though she realizes a child’s safety is important, after a child turns 5 years old, the parents should be able to decide how best to secure them in a vehicle.
“I like where it’s at now,” she said.
Tanner said she didn’t wait on a bill to strap in her children. Her booster seats don’t have a back to them and only raise her daughter up high enough to fit the seat belt properly, she said.
“I would make her use it until it fits,” Tanner said. “I like her in it for now.”
John Tompkins is senior reporter for The Facts. Contact him at (979) 849-8581.
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