Expanded safety measures for children passengers passes committee

In a confusing gesture, Utah lawmaker Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman, offered to buy $1,000 worth of booster seats at a House committee hearing, in lieu of voting for a bill requiring safety seats in vehicles for children up to eight years old.

Current statutes require safety seats for kids up to five years of age.

HB140, sponsored by Rep. Tim Cosgrove, D-Murray, attempts to address an "in-between" stage of child development wherein children are too big for a car seat with integrated restraints, but too small to be appropriately protected by adult-sized seat belts.

The bill was passed out favorably by the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice standing committee, with Wimmer, who is a police officer and father of two, issuing the sole dissenting vote.

The bill essentially mandates the use of booster seats for children aged 5-8, who are exposed to a higher risk of injury via use of in-car seat belts that don't fit their body size.

Janet Brooks, manager of the Child Advocacy Program at Children's Primary Medical Center, cited statistics from the Utah Highway Patrol that only 24 percent of children five to eight years old are using booster seats. By comparison, almost 95 percent of children under five are in safety seats.

"Compliance is very high in regulated areas," Brooks said. She noted the significantly lower figure for the non-mandated age bracket.

Dr. Jeff Schmidt, president of the Intermountain Pediatric Society, testified that children are "four times less likely to suffer head, spinal cord and abdominal injuries with booster seats." Schmidt noted that internal injuries are common in children involved in accidents who are too small for adult-sized seat belts because restraints contact smaller bodies in the wrong areas for optimum safety.

Delane England, from the Utah Eagle Forum, said that the requirements would be onerous for larger families.

"A mom with three car seats can't go anywhere," England said."We need freedom to live."

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