• 07
• Aug
• 2007
• 

Delaware (US) improves car seat laws but is it enough?

Last month saw the laws in Delaware governing child restraints in moving vehicles change to improve safety for the child.

The new Child Restraint Law states that any child up to the age of 7, or under 65 pounds in weight must be properly secured in a child safety seat appropriate for their size and weight, whether that is an infant seat, convertible or booster seat. And those age 8 or 66 pounds through age 15 are required to use properly secured seat belts.

This change increases the age a child uses a child safety seat from the previous legal requirement of 6 years old to 7 and increases the previous weight threshold from 60 to 65 pounds. This change has come about to bring the state inline with the federal guidelines on transporting children using child safety seats.

These new laws still fall way short of those here in the UK. Research by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has shown the risk of injury is reduced by 59 percent for children aged between 4 and 7 using booster seats.

The injuries sustained by children from badly positioned seat belts in a car crash are caused by the seat belt to falling across the child’s abdomen (rather than lap) and across the neck (rather than shoulder). If the seat belt is fitting the body as it was designed to it will offer far greater protection to the user in the event of an accident.

Sadly across the US Booster Seats are only used for around 10 to 20 percent of the children in the age range that are supposed to be using them.

The new law in Delaware imposes a $25 fine for each offence, the same as for any adult occupant failing to use a seat belt while a vehicle is in motion.

For further information please see the Delaware Office of Highway Safety
www.ohs.delaware.gov