Police to begin enforcing new booster seat law

Drivers can now be stopped, fined if they do not properly buckle kids in

By Owen Boss

BOSTON — The Massachusetts State Police and local police departments across the commonwealth will begin enforcing the updated Child Passenger Safety Law, which will require that all children riding in passenger motor vehicles be in a federally approved child passenger restraint until they are 8 years old or more than 57 inches tall. The new regulations were signed into law when Gov. Deval Patrick passed Senate Bill 2018, which was dubbed the “Booster Seat Bill” in April. The new regulations would allow a police officer to stop a motor vehicle if a child is riding with improper restraints and the driver can be fined up to $25 for each improperly restrained child. A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control found that traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for children ages 3 to 14 nationwide, and that children 12 and younger are safest when properly restrained in the back seat, ideally away from airbags. According to Mary Maguire, director of Public and Legislative Affairs for AAA Southern New England, the implementation of the law is expected to dramatically lower the number of children injured in car accidents. “We have estimated that these booster seats could curb the number of children injured or killed in car accidents by 58 percent,” said Ms. Maguire. Although many parents will make sure their children buckle up when riding in a vehicle, Ms. Maguire said that is sometimes not enough, and smaller children, even when in a seat belt, could be improperly restrained. “When a small child sits flat on its seat with a safety belt, the belts don’t always go where they are supposed to,” said Ms. Maguire. “Sometimes you get injuries simply because they don’t fit properly. Booster seats assure that the belt goes across the lap and hips and across the child’s chest as opposed to the neck.” Lt. David Wilson, of the Framingham State Police Department, said the law has changed to include new parameters, but the message police have been sending to motorists has always been the same. “The law has changed but the recommendations never have,” said Mr. Wilson. “The law used to be under the age of 5 and 40 pounds, it only covered children in car seats and it ignored the children that should be put into booster seats.” According to Mr. Wilson, the police are planning on taking the enforcement of this law very seriously during the first few months, so that motorists will become aware of the new regulations. “Well, what this is about is we are trying to save lives,” said Mr. Wilson. “The biggest thing for us is to get people to comply with the law, and we are going to do everything we can.” According to a press release, the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security was recently awarded 67 Child Passenger Safety Equipment grants totaling $660,773 to communities statewide to help reduce motor vehicle fatalities and injuries involving children, and to support the implementation of the new law. oboss@thegardnernews.com

Appeared on Page 1 on 7/10/2008 (Vol. 206 No. 162)