Child Passenger Safety Editorial

Letter to the Editor:

We are reminding parents and caregivers in our community that all children should be placed in child safety seats, booster seats or seat belts-every time they ride in a car or truck.
Great progress has been made in increasing the use of child safety seats and booster seats, which has decreased deaths among children in car and truck crashes. But much more remains to be done.

Safety experts have identified proper booster seat use for children in the age four-to-eight range and weighing 40-80 pounds as one of the nation's most important child passenger safety priorities. However, the majority of America's 20 million children who should be riding in booster seats are not, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA).

Just 21 percent of children aged 4-8 are "at least on occasion" riding in a booster seat while traveling in a vehicle. Your child should stay in a car safety seat with a full harness until the seat is outgrown, usually at about 40 pounds. When a child's shoulders are above the top set of strap slots, it is time for a booster. A belt positioning booster seat boosts child up providing a higher sitting height, which allows the adult lap and shoulder belt to fit properly

Children who have outgrown their child safety seat should ride in a booster seat until they are at least eight years old or 4 feet, 9 inches tall, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Children placed in poorly fitting adult safety belts can suffer serious life-threatening injuries, or risk being ejected from a vehicle altogether in the event of a crash.

Child car seat checks and information is available at (763)682-7701


Jon Young
Wright County Safe Communities Member
1004 Commercial Drive
Buffalo, MN 55313