Serious car accident injuries are a hazard to drivers and passengers of all ages. The forces generated when autos collide with other vehicles or obstacles exert tremendous stresses on the human body. Significant progress has occurred in recent decades as a result of safety devices like seat belts and airbags that protect vehicle occupants from broken bones, brain injuries and spinal injuries in serious car and truck accidents.

Vehicle safety developments have resulted from scientific advances, but implementing them in all cars also requires political will and sound public policies. One area in which Arizona auto safety laws have lagged is a requirement that children use booster seats beyond the age when they can fit in child safety seats.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has long recommended booster seats for kids who are not large enough for standard equipment seat belts. Notwithstanding the recommendation of the NTSB, Arizona remains one of only three states that do not have a booster seat requirement.

A bill recently introduced in the Arizona legislature would require children between five and eight years old who are shorter than four feet, nine inches tall to use booster seats. Factory lap and shoulder belts do not fully protect small children because straps can be far too high on a child’s abdomen and torso to adequately restrain them in the event of a car crash.

Pediatric health advocates told the House Transportation Committee that booster seats can reduce car accident injuries to children by 60 percent. While similar legislation has failed in recent legislative sessions, the committee unanimously approved the bill, and some house members admitted a change of heart.

Any measure that reduces the severity of injuries in motor vehicle accidents is a positive step. Children who suffer a traumatic brain injury or a spinal cord injury that leads to paralysis due to a distracted driver or other negligence often require a lifetime of advanced medical care. Seeking experienced representation from an Arizona car accident attorney is often a family’s first important step forward in the aftermath of a tragic personal injury.