Posted on: Friday, March 16, 2001
Booster seat requirement for younger keiki expected
By Ronna Bolante
Advertiser Capitol Bureau
Both the state House and Senate seem likely to pass bills this session that would require children between the ages of 4 and 8 to be placed in booster seats while in vehicles.
At a Senate hearing yesterday, state Health Director Bruce Anderson said booster seats are more suitable than seat belts in securing young children.
"Seat belts are designed for older children and adults, not for children under 8 years of age whose size and physical development make seat belts less effective and, in some cases, unsafe," Anderson said.
Last year, Washington state enacted a law mandating the use of booster seats for children up to 5 years old after a 4-year-old boy died after being thrown from a vehicle when his body slid out of his seat belt.
House Bill 135, which had been approved by the House last week and is now being considered by the Senate, would require children between ages 4 and 8 and under 60 pounds to be placed in booster seats.
The bill now moves on to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
A similar measure, Senate Bill 202, was approved by the Senate earlier this session and is now in the House. That bill would require booster seats for children between ages 4 and 8 and under 80 pounds.
Sen. Cal Kawamoto, chairman of the Committee on Transportation, Military Affairs and Government Operations, acknowledged that many parents must adjust to the practice of placing young children in booster seats.
But "there are ways to cut costs," he said.
Susan LaFountaine, co-chairwoman of the Keiki Industry Prevention Coalition, said: "We have the multi-agency support to develop resources for booster seats and to provide free child passenger safety services to the public."
Kawamoto, D-19th (Waipahu, Pearl City), said children's safety should come first.
"When it comes to the safety of young people, I am always in favor of it," Kawamoto said. "You can save lives, you can take care of the young people."
