Editorial
Booster seat bill should become law

While his concerns about costs and the impact on large families are understandable, Gov. Cayetano should not veto a bill requiring car booster seats for children 8 and under.

The measure is an important step toward greater safety for children being carried in vehicles on Hawai'i's roads.

There is no doubt that previous laws requiring car safety seats for children 4 and under have saved lives and prevented numerous injuries. Studies suggest that the booster seats would have a similar impact on slightly older children, particularly those too small to be protected by regular seat belts.

Cayetano is concerned that the new requirement would be an expensive burden on large families or those with low incomes. Similar concerns were raised when the car safety seat law was first proposed.

But we have come to learn that a broad program of loaners, tax incentives and the "recycling" of seats once youngsters grow out of them served to make those products widely available.

The same pattern will emerge with the booster seats. The bill should become law.