State's child car-seat law tightens

Washington state's child car-seat law got tighter Friday, when new rules took effect requiring children to sit in car and booster seats until they are 8 years old or 4 feet 9 inches tall.

Medical experts say there are good reasons for the new law, which is one of the strictest in the nation.

Car crashes are the leading cause of death among children, according to Dr. Beth Ebel, who sees fallout from improper car seats when she works at Harborview Medical Center and at Seattle Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center.

"It happens so often, emergency department physicians call it 'seat belt syndrome,' " the Washington Traffic Safety Commission said in a statement.

When a child is involved in a car crash at 30 mph, he or she experiences the same force as falling off the third story of a building, Ebel added.

"You have to pick your battles. This is the one their life depends on," said Ebel, who has three children.

"The data suggests that over half of the children (who) are killed in car crashes are unrestrained."

Parents also must do their part and properly fasten car and booster seat belts.

One of the problems is that an adult seat belt can slip off a child's pelvis onto their stomach. In a crash, the belt can crush a child's spleen, liver of intestines.

People caught ignoring the new rules face a $112 fine for each improperly buckled child.

The old rules required children to ride in a car seat until they were 6 or weighed 60 pounds.

Other rules include:


Babies must ride in rear--facing infant seats until they are a year old and weigh 20 pounds.


Placing a shoulder strap under an arm or behind a back is illegal.

People wanting to get a child seat checked out can visit one of the monthly car-seat inspection sites. The next one is Tuesday at St. Francis Hospital in Federal Way
by:seattlepi.nwsource.com