Well, that saved me 2 booster seats...

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KELO is reporting this morning that the House Transportation committee smartly killed that stupid bill to require kids 5 through 8 to be in booster seats.
A bill to require booster seats for children from the age of five through seven was killed today in the South Dakota Legislature.

and...

They also say it would be difficult to enforce a law that would require booster seats for children of five through seven who are not yet 57 inches tall because police couldn't tell their ages by looking at them or how tall they are.
Read it all here. Let's hope that it doesn't come back this, or any other session.

Comments

Anonymous said…
If you do any research on car seat safety and watch crash test videos involving car seats, you would want to have a child stay in a car seat (NOT a booster) for as long as possible. Boosters have a high failure rate and are a cheap way to endanger your child's life. My 15-month-old is still rear-facing and will be until she reaches the limit for rear-facing in her carseat (a Britax Marathon - which is 33 pounds). When she outgrows the carseat at 65 pounds, she will be moved into a larger carseat, the Britax Regent where she will stay until 80 pounds (or until she outgrows the height requirement). Go to the following website where they give a run-down on booster seats. And you were worried you may have had to buy two new boosters - I see your priorities. http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/StayRearFacing.aspx
1:51 PM
Anonymous said…
Looks like your Boy Wonder Russ Olson voted for the measure. You better set him straight.
2:58 PM
Anonymous said…
anon 1:51,

why don't you just put your kids in bubble wrap and never let them leave the house? sounds like that'd be the best plan for you.
3:32 PM
Anonymous said…
My daughter hit ice and rolled her compact car five years ago while her two children were strapped in a car seat and a booster seat in the back seat. The car rolled, but the kids were unscathed.
You don't have to convince anyone in that family about the need to use safety seats!
4:02 PM
Anonymous said…
Dang, now I have to sell my shares in ACME Booster Seats for 5-8 year olds.
4:47 PM
Douglas said…
Anon 4.o2 makes an interesting point. Many South Dakotans including legislators seem incapable of understanding statistics related to seat belts, etc. They almost have to have a personal or family experience to get the message.

That indicates a tremendous failure on the part of the SD legislature in too many cases. They make general law which should be related to general data and information not simply their own personal experience.

That said, whatever reason you decide is good enough, get into the habit of buckling seat belts and protecting kids who aren't statisticians or safety oriented.

It's not you that you and your riders may have to worry about, it may be the drunk or incompetent, the drugged, or the sleeping driver in another vehicle, or the guy who just had a heart attack with his foot on the accelerator pedal. It is not possible to anticipate or react to all the stupidity, ignorance and just plain bad luck and circumstance on highways.
4:48 PM
Anonymous said…
Of course it's a good idea to buckle up but booster seats for 8 year olds??? Give me a break. We live in SD for a reason -- we don't go for that crap here.
7:50 PM
Anonymous said…
1:51: You're going to put your daughter in a car seat until she weighs 80# !! She will probably be in Jr. High.
8:14 PM
Anonymous said…
"Let's hope that it doesn't come back this, or any other session."

Yeah we don't the Gov't intrusion. Do you hope the aborion bill doesn't come back either?
8:43 AM
Anonymous said…
I'd run away from home if I was in jr high and my parents still made me sit in a car seat.

What a dork.
9:24 AM
Anonymous said…
Well, if I'm a dork...I work for a school district and know many kindergarteners and some first graders that may not weigh an ounce over 40 pounds and are too short to sit with a seat belt with no booster. South Dakota has one of the most lax laws concerning child car safety. There are states with the 6 years old AND 60 pound rule before being allowed to not use a booster. Canada and Europe have much higher standards than the US when it comes to child car restraints. Will my child actually still be in a carseat at 80 pounds? Obviously not. The point I'm getting at is there are car seats for those of us who wish to have their children protected to the highest standard, and the highest standard is really not putting a 40 pound, 5 year in in an adult's seat belt restraint. Check HEIGHT requirements in your car's manual. I guess I worry more about my child's safety than others - I'm SUCH a dork.
11:30 AM
Anonymous said…
11:30 - The people who make these ignorant remarks are simply proving that they don't care about the welfare of children AFTER they are born. They only want to protect all those 2-inch, unborn fetuses out there so they can control women's bodies.

You might be a dork, but they are myopic control freaks who use their Bibles as an excuse for their attempts to run everyone else's lives.

I'd rather be a dork.
2:00 PM
Anonymous said…
2:00 PM - EXACTLY! Very well put. From the dork.
3:28 PM
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