Friday, March 26, 2010

Ohio's New Booster Seat Law

Ohio’s Booster Seat Law will soon be in full effect

Will your child be riding safely?

After many years of hard work and advocacy, Ohio’s booster seat law will go into full effect on April 7, 2010. This new law requires children under 8 and under 4’9” tall to be restrained in a booster seat once they have outgrown their car seat. For years we have seen the devastating impact of children “graduating too early” into the adult seat belt. We know this law and education associated with it will reduce injuries and save lives.

Dayton Children's has been working hard to educate parents and caregivers about the importance of booster seats.
 
Children, 4 to 8-years-old, are too small to be protected adequately by the car’s seat belt system, which is designed for an adult. Booster seats are designed to simply lift the child up so the child fits in a vehicle seat belt system more like an adult.


If the seat belt doesn’t fit a child, he or she tends to move away from the vehicle seatback creating space behind the child which may allow for the child to be ejected. Some children may also tuck the shoulder belt behind their back leaving no upper body protection which could result in severe injury to the abdomen, neck and head.

In addition, without a booster seat, an adult seat belt can actually cause injury in the event of a crash rather than preventing it. For instance, if the lap belt rests on your child’s stomach, which typically happens without a booster seat, your child could suffer liver, spleen, or spinal cord damage in a crash.

Make sure your child is riding safety in a booster seat with tips from Dayton Children's.  If you have questions regarding your car or booster seat consider attending one of our local community car seat checks.