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Ohio is currently 1 of only 10 states in the U.S. without a booster seat law and some of those have pending legislation. The use of belt-positioning booster seats lowers the risk of injury to children in crashes by 59% compared to the use of vehicle safety belts. This finding comes from a study of children ages 4 through 7 by Partners for Child Passenger Safety (PCPS), a State Farm-funded research project at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Even though 94% of America’s toddlers use child safety seats, kids ages 4 to 8 are not being properly restrained. This puts children at an unnecessary risk of being injured or killed in crashes because they are simply in the wrong restraint for their size.

Children who have outgrown their convertible seat, after age 4 and 40 pounds, should use a booster seat. Safety belts were designed for adults. Therefore, children who are 4 to 8 years old, 40 to 80 pounds and less than 4 feet 9 inches tall, need to be boosted up so that the lap and shoulder belt fit low over their hips and thighs and snug across their shoulder.

On April 6, 2007, an Ohio law was passed requiring all children, ages 4 to 15 years old, to be restrained in an appropriate restraint. The Ohio Senate currently has Senate Bill 27 and House Bill 320 pending to strengthen that law by requiring all children ages 4 to 8 years old and up to 4 feet 9 inches tall to be riding in a booster seat when in a vehicle. To encourage the passage of this bill, write your state Congressman to pass this bill and to make sure that our children travel safer.

If you would like to become an advocate, contact Linda Tvorik at 645-6138 or email at lltvorik@columbus.gov

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  E-mail: lltvorik@columbus.gov