Florida Needs Booster Seat Law

Pediatricians have always been interested in protecting our patients from life ending or altering bad events.  Hence the emphasis and laws on immunizations to protect against dangerous infectious diseases with dramatic beneficial results.  As infections declined as a cause of serious morbidity and mortality in American children it was logical to attack other etiologies – accidents, the leading cause of death in children older than 1 year.  Since motor vehicle accidents lead the list of causes it was necessary to protect infants, children and adolescents while riding in cars; hence child passenger car seat laws.  Dynamically tested infant car seats were developed and laws passed to protect infants in motor vehicles.  This March the American Academy of Pediatrics issued new guidelines advising parents to keep their toddlers in rear-facing car seats until the age of 2, or until they reach the maximum height and weight for their seat. 

Furthermore, the updated AAP policy advises that most children will need to ride in a belt positioning booster seat until they have reached 57 inches (4’ 9”) tall and are between 8 and 12 years old.  The concerns are that an adult restraint system may injure the child i.e., the shoulder belt may damage the child’s windpipe (trachea) and lap belt may ride up across the abdomen and rupture the spleen, or liver.  The lap belt needs to ride low across the hips to be effective.  These policies and related articles can be found at www.HealthyChildren.org  including a list of products for 2011.  

Florida is 1 of only 3 states without a booster seat law- 47 states have a booster seat law for older children.  As a parent I’m certain you will achieve peace of mind while driving knowing your children are safe and secure.  However, there are good economic reasons why Florida needs a booster seat law.  Estimates are savings of $100 for $1 spent on booster seats:

·      Florida spends 6.5 million dollars per year in treating injuries due to auto accidents for children 4-8 years of age.

·      Every booster seat purchase saves $1800 in medical bills, quality of life measures, time lost from work, etc.

·      Booster seats are affordable.  For as little as $15 a child can be protected.  For a 4 year old, that’s about 1 penny a day! To save a child’s life and prevent injury!

·      Booster seats are needed to prevent children from suffering skull, brain, spinal cord and internal abdominal injuries when they have outgrown their car seats.

·      Florida averages 22 automobile accident related deaths per year for children 4-8 years of age.

·      Children 4-8 years of age are 4x more likely to suffer head/brain injuries, and 3x more likely to suffer severe abdominal injuries when restrained according to present Florida law (only with a seatbelt) vs. when they are restrained appropriately with a booster seat.

·      Injury rates decrease by 59% when a child is restrained with a booster seat vs. a seatbelt.

·      Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death and acquired disabilities in children between 4-8 years of age.  4,000 Florida children in this age group visit emergency rooms each year for treatment of injuries sustained in auto accidents.  Each of the past several years legislation has been introduced in Florida to expand laws covering child passengers to require the use of booster seats.  So far these bills have not passed out of committee. 

Bruce H. Berget, MD, F.A.A.P.