Though some parents and critics argue that state booster laws are made to sell more booster seats, a new study shows that booster seat laws exist for good reason. Researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) recently released their findings from a study of booster seat safety for kids aged 4 to 8, and their results show a reduction in injuries when boosters are used versus a seat belt alone.
The study covers more than 7,000 children aged 4 to 8 who were involved in vehicle crashes between 1998 and 2007. Researchers found that kids in this age range who are in the back seat in a belt-positioning booster seat are 45 percent less likely to be injured in a crash versus kids who are in a seat belt alone. Of the kids who were in booster seats, the greatest reduction in injuries was in side-impact crashes. Since side-impact crashes tend to be some of the most severe, that's big news in terms of keeping your child as safe as possible on the road. The study also found that children in seat belts alone are more likely to sustain serious brain, spinal cord and organ injuries, and are much more likely to have abdominal injuries. I was surprised to see that the study found no significant difference in injury statistics when children are in a high-back booster versus a low-back booster.
The new research was spurred by a desire to find out whether the reduction in injuries remained the same when older children were included in the study. The last time CHOP studied booster safety, it was before many states passed booster legislation, so many of the kids in the study were only 4 or 5 years old. When states pass a booster law, it tends to increase booster seat usage for kids through age 8 by about 40 percent, according to Reuters.
- New National Study of Crash-Involved Children Reaffirms Recommendations for Booster Seat Through Age 8
- Safety Benefits of Booster Reaffirmed
- Should I Move My Toddler to a Booster Seat?
- Top Belt-Positioning Booster Seats
- State Car Seat and Booster Laws
Does this new research change your opinion on state booster laws? Does it encourage you to keep your child in a booster longer or move back to a booster from the seat belt?