LANSING – State Representatives Kathy
Angerer (D-Dundee), Barb Byrum
(D-Onondaga), Marc Corriveau (D-Northville) and
Kate Ebli (D-Monroe) today announced that their
child-safety restraint bills, which will protect young passengers and make Michigan eligible to receive vital federal
funds, were passed by the House of Representatives.
"The safety belts found in cars are not made for children," Angerer said. "Studies show that a booster
seat is four times more effective in preventing head injuries than a seat belt alone. This legislation will save lives
and prevent injuries."
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths to children. In 2005, more than
2,300 Michigan children 8 and younger were injured in crashes, according to the Michigan Department of Community Health.
Motor vehicle crashes remained the largest single cause of injury-related deaths in 2005, resulting in 16 deaths for
Michigan children age 8 and younger.
"It is tragic that so many children across this country die in car accidents because they are not
properly secured," Byrum said. "We can save lives by tightening our regulations on child-restraint systems in Michigan.
It is time our laws were updated to better protect our children."
The four-bill package would:
- Require manufacturer-certified booster seats for children who are under the age of 8 and who are not taller than 4 feet, 9 inches.
- Establish fines for violating the law requiring seat belts or car seats for minors in vehicles; the fines would be waived if the driver acquired the mandated car seat prior to the court date.
- Require drivers to securely place children under the age of 4 in child-restraint safety seats in the rear seat of a vehicle and remove the state's current exemption for children who are being nursed.
- Establish a Child Safety Education Fund, which would use grant dollars and private donations to help fund booster seat education.
"Helping to teach parents how to install and properly use booster seats is critical to protecting our children's
safety," Corriveau said. "Simply making the use of a booster seat a requirement is not enough to ensure our kids'
safety. The Child Safety Education Fund will help ensure that our children are protected."
With its current child passenger safety law, Michigan is ineligible to receive over $1 million in federal
funding that could be used to provide education and free booster seats to low-income families. This legislation would
bring the state in line with federal laws, allowing Michigan to apply for this much-needed funding.
"It's crucial that we strengthen Michigan's child-safety restraint laws," Ebli said. "Not only will we be
promoting the safety of every child who rides in a car, but we will also ensure that Michigan is eligible to obtain
federal funds for our state."