Stricter Car Seat Law Takes Effect Monday For Children in Md.

Some Maryland children who thought they were free of car seats will have to climb back in beginning Monday, when a new state law takes effect.

The law requires that children use safety seats until they turn 8, weigh 65 pounds or reach 4-foot-9.

Safety advocates say the law strengthens Maryland's standards that require a safety seat or booster seat until children reach 40 pounds and age 6. The law allows older children to use either booster seats, which elevate children to allow seat belts to fit properly, or car seats that have a five-point safety harness. Younger children should use a car seat with a harness until age 4 and nearly 40 pounds, officials said.

The most important change, safety advocates said, is the 4-foot-9 requirement because it prevents seat belts designed for adults from hitting children across the neck or abdomen, which can cause serious or fatal injuries.

The new law, which affects about 155,000 children ages 6 and 7, brings Maryland in line with the District and 18 states, including Virginia, that have more stringent safety seat requirements for older children, officials said.

Maryland Del. Bill Bronrott (D-Montgomery), who co-sponsored the legislation, said studies show car crashes are the leading cause of death and disabling injuries for children 3 and older.

"We know that properly buckling up our children can reduce this risk," Bronrott said yesterday at a news conference in Kensington. "This is all preventable."

Although the new law carries a $48 fine, Bronrott said it is intended to educate people about the importance of safely restraining children in a car. A violation does not apply points to a driver's license, but as with a seat-belt offense, police may stop a driver for not having a child properly restrained.

Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown (D) said the stricter law should help improve national statistics that show one in five children ages 4 to 8 uses booster seats. "We can do better," Brown said.

Some Maryland parents, such as Kathleen Sparrow of Bethesda, said their rules are stricter than the law. Sparrow, 39, said her daughter, Madeleine, 8, recently stopped using a booster seat only because she is tall for her age.

"I think it's possibly the last ounce of control that you have over your kids' safety," Sparrow said.

Sparrow's son, Aidan, who turns 6 next month, has been lobbying to leave the booster seat behind.

"It's kind of like a rite of passage when you're out of a car seat," Sparrow said. "It's like you're grown up and they're no longer cool. Kids are pretty sensitive to it."

With the new law, Sparrow said, she likes knowing she has more time to tell her son that she could receive a ticket if he is not properly restrained in the car.

"He'll resist at first, but he won't have a choice," she said.

Kate Masterson, 32, of Kensington said she will not get many complaints from her son Jack, 7, who said his booster helps him see out the car window. "I'll stay in it a little longer because I like it," he said.

Masterson said she had planned to keep her son Charlie, 5, in a booster seat for awhile.

"I think it's safer and more comfortable," she said.

Safety advocates said the most effective booster seats have supports for the back and neck to control side-to-side movements in a crash. Elizabeth Baker, a regional administrator for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said car seats with five-point harnesses designed for heavier children are even safer.

"A child safety seat is basically a little crash cage," Baker said. "The longer you can keep your kid in a safety seat, the better off you are."

Free or loaner safety seats are available for low-income families, officials said.

More information about safety restraints for all ages is available athttp://www.nhtsa.govorhttp://www.fha.state.md.us/ohpetup/kiss.