Abstract
Booster seat safety is one of the ways that cars have been designed to ensure that passengers are safe whenever they are traveling. Most booster seats have different designs depending on the type of car, with the main focus being child safety whenever they are traveling. As a result of the debate on the best booster seats to ensure maximum security, laws such as the booster seat safety act were introduced in the House on January 27, 2023, to outline some of the requirements and testing standards for booster seats used in motor vehicles. Discussing the topic is an essential concept in society since it addresses the issue of whether a child is safe inside the car even when they use the belt car. Booster seats will ensure that they fit children since the seat belts are designed to align with the adult bodies and fail to hold the children securely. Therefore, the law will ensure that everyone maintains child safety and minimizes the number of children dead in case of an accident.
Social Problem
A booster seat is a non-harnessed vehicle seat whose primary function is to raise a child to an adequate height for usage with a lap and shoulder seat belt. Booster seats are intended for children who have outgrown their infant car seats but must still satisfy the height criteria for an adult seat. In the case of an accident, a child who is not correctly restrained with a seat belt that fits them will not be protected. As a result, the problem of child safety can be solved by using a booster seat, as the number of children harmed while traveling in a car is increasing(Posuniak et al.,2018). This is because most parents, when traveling with their children, fail to consider the different potential outcomes that may follow from awful situations.
Moreover, there is a link between booster seats and a range of societal norms. For example, protecting those particularly vulnerable to danger means shielding persons, such as children, from harm in various methods, including accident avoidance. Furthermore, this implies that it is suitable for the children and promotes a safe environment by reacting to the parent’s concerns about the probability of specific occurrences, such as the children being knocked down while being driven. According to this societal norm, it is unethical for parents to put their children through mental or physical suffering. Booster seats also align with accountability, particularly on the parent’s side, because parents can make fair decisions about how they might protect their children(Byl,2013). As a result, the booster seat is linked to the human value, where it is essential to protect life, and this is related to the value of individual rights, where a child has the right to life, the right to health, and the right to a high quality of life. Furthermore, the worth of individual rights is linked to the worth of the booster seat.
Additionally, one of the underlying causes and contributing elements that results in the use of booster seats is the child’s age. Car accidents, for example, are one of the major causes of death for children aged 4 to 8 years old. This is due to the fact that children of this age are the most vulnerable to injury when travelling by car. Furthermore, the child’s height is taken into account because seat belts do not appropriately fit the child. Children under 4 feet and 9 inches tall, for example, may not fit correctly in seat belts designed for adults. A seat belt that does not fit properly puts a youngster at risk of serious injury. When a child slouches to pull her knees over the car seat, the lap belt fit is ineffective because it rides loosely up on the abdomen rather than crossing low over the lap(Henary et al.,2017). This is due to the lap belt riding freely up over the abdomen instead of crossing low over the lap. Because of the child’s height, the shoulder belt rides up on the child’s neck rather than crossing over the breastbone and shoulder. This is ineffective since the child will often wear the shoulder belt under their arm or behind their back because it irritates on their face and neck.
Consequently, the booster seat should be used only if the vehicle’s average distance traveled with children exceeds a specified threshold. For example, the majority of parents believe that if the average distance traveled is less than five kilometers, they are less likely to have booster seats in their automobiles(Henry et al.,2017). Furthermore, parents who have one child buckled up are more likely to buckle up all of their children, regardless of age, weight, or gender, if they have another child in the car who is also wearing a seat belt.
Legislative Act/ Law
The Booster Seat Safety Act is one of the legislation passed to address protecting children’s safety when traveling. The Act’s primary goal is to increase the use of child restraints and reduce the frequency of child fatalities and injuries. The Act, for example, assures that the child will not suffer from specific traumas, such as a head injury, which can occur when a shoulder belt is placed under the child’s arm or behind the back. Furthermore, the Act assures that the youngster will not be harmed due to the traumatic event, which could have occurred otherwise.
The Booster Seat Safety Act prevents the shoulder belt from being wrongly positioned under the arm or behind the back and prevents seatbelt syndrome. Furthermore, the Act aid in the prevention of seatbelt syndrome by ensuring that an improperly fitted lap belt that presses into the belly region provides the least amount of severe damage possible (Decina et al., 2008). Similarly, the Act effectively avoids crushing sensitive internal organs such as the spleen and liver and intestinal growth, which can inflate like a balloon if allowed to grow too large.
Another goal of the legislation is the prevention of neck and spinal injuries caused by a range of scenarios (Winston et al., 2004). This can happen when the lap belt slides up onto the abdomen, the shoulder belt is either under the arm or behind the back, and the neck and spine are shaken and torn apart as a result of a traumatic bend or twist, which can result in paralysis.
Ways the Legislative law addresses the issue of booster seats
The Act addresses the issue of child safety in motor vehicles in different ways. Firstly, it focuses on ensuring that the booster seats used in motor vehicles have a universal standard by outlining the labeling requirements and testing standards. For example, the booster seats should have labels focusing on the age and weight of the child using the seat, four years and a minimum of 40 pounds(Booster Seat Safety Act n.d.).Also, the Act outlines other requirements, such as the height at that the child should use the seat and the period this should happen.
In addition, the legislative law also focuses on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration since it is the body mandated to promote safety on the highways. According to the law, the body must outline the minimum height for booster seats and provide instructions to the manufacturers on the optimum height. Doing this will ensure that all booster seats have the same height therefore it becomes easy to accommodate all the children (Booster Seat Safety Act .n.d.). Similarly, through the bill of the NHTSA, there will be a standard for side impact crash tests for booster seats and a framework to establish a testing dummy that can accommodate six-year-old children.
Other ways that the Act addresses the social problem of child safety in motor vehicles is through having a child restraint system that has a permanent label outlining ways to prevent possible injury or death is through delaying the transition from a child restraint system with the internal harness to a booster seat as long as possible, till the child reaches the height and weight indicated by the manufacturer (Booster Seat Safety Act. n.d).
Supporters and opponents of the Booster Safety Act
Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat elected to the 115th Congress and the three Congresses that followed it beginning on January 3, 2017, and continuing till the present, is one of the Act’s supporters. Katie Porter, a United States Representative who has represented California’s 47th Congressional District since 2023 and previously represented California’s 45th Congressional District from 2019 to 2023, supports the bill. In addition, Katie Porter, a Democrat, made history by becoming the first Democrat to be elected to represent the 45th Congressional District. Other co-sponsors of the bill include; Barragan Nanette, Brownley Julia, Swalwell Eric, Larsen Rick, Castor Kathy, Norton Eleanor Holmes, Tonko Paul, and Carbajal Salud(Booster Seat Safety Act. n.d). All of them argue that because children cannot defend themselves, the remedies stated in the law will effectively ensure that children are safeguarded when riding in automobiles. Given this, Congress should prioritize the bill and move expeditiously to enact its provisions. Saat Alety, Allstate’s Director of Federal Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, is one of many people that favor this Act. Other participants include Vaun Cleveland, the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies’ Director of Federal Affairs, and Tammy Franks, the National Safety Council’s Senior Program Manager for Mobility Safety. Both of these individuals are also included.
Other groups supporting this program include Families for Safe Streets, American Family Insurance, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Kids in Danger, the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, and Consumer Reports. However, there is no indication of anyone opposing the bill.
Social Programs Implemented as a result of the bill
Several other social programs were implemented as a direct result of the Act. One of these initiatives is “project safe child,” another car safety seat program term. The program is offered via the District Department of Transportation. It is intended to educate caregivers and parents on the importance of utilizing child safety seats correctly every time a parent travels with their child(Niu et al.,2019). The initiative provides residents of the District with a free booster seat and information on how to install and strap children into their safety seats correctly. Free car seats and inspections are available through the booster seat program for children over the age of four and weighing at least 30 pounds, as well as the voucher program, which is only available by appointment at the district headquarters through institutions such as health centers, youth centers, and schools. These initiatives provide children with accessible car seats and free car seat checks(Niu et al.,2019). Regarding vouchers, they can be redeemed and made accessible at locations where a Certified Passenger Child Safety Technician will install child safety seats and provide information on the benefits of utilizing child safety seats to parents, caregivers, and other interested parties.
Child passenger safety training is also part of the car safety program. This free lesson lasts two to four hours and focuses on local legislation, selecting the most effective child restraint, and installing it. Furthermore, the session highlights the need to strap youngsters in a while riding in a car. In addition, the curriculum contains the National Child Passenger Safety Technician Certification Training curriculum, a four-day training program that prepares parents for the Child Passenger Safety Technician course. The training curriculum is a Child Passenger Safety Technician Certification Training curriculum component. Participants in this form of training learn how to properly utilize car seats and assist families at public safety events, workshops, and private car seat clinics. This course includes classroom instruction, indoor and outdoor hands-on exercises, a community safety checkup, and an assessment of the participant’s ability to use car seats and autos(Robisson, 2019). Finally, the program supports parents in connecting with safety technicians and providing teaching on various safety courses.
Furthermore, the Act created new initiatives like the Child Passenger Safety Program. The program began in 1995 and was funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the South Carolina Department of Public Safety (SCDPS). The initiative’s main goal was to reduce and prevent injuries, fatalities, and disabilities among children as a direct result of incidents with motor vehicles. Other goals of the program include outlining the motor vehicle crash dynamics and potential dangers for children who are not restrained, providing technical assistance as needed, counseling community groups and parents on child passenger safety, and demonstrating and instructing on the proper installation of various child safety seats such as booster seats, convertible seats, and infant seats(Smola et al.,2020). Other objectives include demonstrating and instructing how to properly install various kid safety seats, such as booster seats, convertible seats, and infant seats. Other objectives include educating people about the importance of safe transportation for children in motor vehicles, providing training to DHEC’s partner organizations, public health offices, and community knowledge to ensure skills and knowledge to properly restrain children in motor vehicles properly, and providing a resource for discussing child passenger safety issues in the community(Savage et al.,2021). One of the program’s benefits was its ability to guide child passenger safety by referring to the recommendations published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which is aware of the challenges that children confront.
Population Affected
The legislative law has varying effects on the various population groups. Children are the beneficiaries of the passage of this measure since they are the ones who are most severely affected in the event of an accident, which leads to high rates of injuries, deaths, and impairments due to the inability of safety belts to strap them up securely as they do for adults. Because of the law, every automobile must have a booster seat that can accommodate children older than four years old and weighs up to 30 kilograms (Ibs). In addition, parents are affected by the legislative law since they are required to make modifications to their vehicles in order to install booster seats. The parents are negatively impacted because they are required to spend additional funds to have these modifications and comply with the law that demands such requirements.
As a consequence, the law affects the manufacturers because it requires them to alter their designs in accordance with the standards set by the Transportation sector in the country. This will have a beneficial effect on the manufacturers because they will contribute to the overall goal of ensuring the safety of children and having motor vehicles designed with consideration for human life.
Impact of the Booster Seat Safety Act on social workers, clients, local communities, and the State.
The Booster Seat Safety Act has had several effects on the community, including developing designs that combine theories and models, such as the social cognition model of health behavior, which is based on the ideas of reasoned action, planned behavior, and social cognition. Planned behavior requires parents to act rationally under their subjective criteria. Furthermore, the Act required that the community participate in programs that will aid in enforcing behavior, such as using booster seats. Moreover, the District requires social workers to provide education on child safety guidelines and resources such as booster seats and booklets detailing the installation process and the most efficient techniques of buckling up children to prevent head, neck, and spine injuries.
Furthermore, the Booster Seat Safety Act affects the State since it requires the State to invest its resources in new ways. For example, the law on booster seats involves the provision of accessible booster seats to qualifying families, as well as the best advice on the specialists who will assist in installing the booster seats. As a result, the number of child deaths and injuries will fall drastically, and the State will be able to save children’s lives while reducing the amount of money it has spent on medical care. Last but not least, the Act impacts the consumers, who are parents, because they will not spend money on treatment in the event of an accident and will instead focus on protecting their children, which is their job.
Critical Analysis
The Booster seat safety Act is one of the policies meant to address the social problem of child safety of children that cannot be buckled up effectively by the seat belts in motor vehicles; therefore, in case of unfortunate events, the children are more likely to suffer injuries. Some of the policy’s strengths include; addressing all the existing gaps in federal regulations that have allowed booster seat manufacturers to create their side-impact crash tests and decide what passes without considering the children’s lives. In addition, the law will force the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to establish mandatory tests for booster seats that reduce the force of side impact crashes. This will be beneficial since the current boosters only consist of the undergo crash test that protects the children in case of a head-on collision and fails to consider that frontal crashes are expected, with side impact collisions resulting in high rates of injury since there is only a door separating the child from the incoming vehicle. In addition, the policy will also address the auto crashes that are considered to be the leading cause of death among children.
Furthermore, the policy will ensure that the boosters possess a label warning on how they should be used. For example, they should not be used for children who weigh less than 40 pounds or who are less than four years old. Similarly, even in the traditional car seats, the labels will still be installed but will have the built-in harness warning parents not to change their kids to the boosters until they can no longer use the harnessed seats(Booster Seat Safety Act n.d.). As a result, the law will ensure they save lives by lifting children to ensure that the adult seat belts properly fit, and in the traditional car seats, the built–in harnesses protect the child better in a crash.
However, the policy needs to discuss the effectiveness of the booster seats when used by older children. For example, when booster seats are used on children aged eight to twelve years, is it likely to cause neck injuries, such as contusions and abrasions, compared to seat belts? Therefore, the policy needed to outline the negative impacts of booster seats, such as belt-positioning on older children can be dangerous.
Furthermore, the intended impact of the legislative law was to ensure that parents understand that makers of the car seats have for a long time misled them about booster seats for more than two decades, resulting in endangering their children’s lives. Therefore, the law was meant to address the manufacturers to ensure they make safe products for children, and the government should follow up and regulate all booster seat designs. For example, manufacturers marketing their booster seats as side impact tested had to be reviewed as they would still cause the children to be paralyzed and killed in case of crashes. Nonetheless, the unintended effect of the law included exposing the internal company depositions that were shielded by the court secrecy orders, especially on the booster seats that were not effective.
Some of the changes other proposals to help improve child safety include; permanently labeling the booster set; highlighting the children’s years and weight. Also, the focus is on the child restraint system, which should also have a permanent label stating. Consequently, there should be a delay in the changing from the child restraint system with an internal harness to a booster seat as long as possible till the child attains the weight and height outlined by the manufacturer. The Act also focuses on booster seat test devices. After 18 months of the enactment date, the administrator is expected to issue the regulation that offers guidelines for a test dummy that approximates a 6-year-old child for the objective of side impact crash testing.
Some of the changes that I propose and would help the children ensure motor vehicle safety are; Most of the states with the booster seat laws demand children of a certain age to be in CRS without offering exemptions for children above average height and weight, which is necessary. Therefore, it would be significant for the researchers to collect information on the weight and height of crash victims to ensure that the law includes such exemptions. Lastly, children aged 8-12 years involved in motor vehicle crashes are less likely to be injured if they are in booster seats than those restrained by a seat belt alone. Still, the law fails to mandate booster seats for children aged eight years and above, which means only a tiny percentage of such children use booster seats in the United States.
References
Booster Seat Safety Act. (n.d.). Congress. Gov. https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/607/cosponsors?s=1&r=1&q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22booster+seat+safety%22%5D%7D
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