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New booster seat law goes into effect
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Tracy Whitman, a coordinator with the Maryland Kids in Safety Seats, assists Kevin Buck, 4, of Catonsville, as she demonstrates how to ride in a booster seat during a news conference announcing Maryland's new booster seat law, Monday outside Johns Hopkins Children¹s Center in Baltimore
BALTIMORE (Map, News) - In an effort to help save the lives of children involved in motor vehicle crashes, Maryland put into effect Monday a revised law that calls for the proper restraint of children in booster seats.
The new law extends the age a child is required to be in a booster seat from 6 to 8 (or until they weight at least 65 pounds or reach the height of 4'9” tall).
Following announcement of the bill that was signed last month by Gov. Martin O’Malley, a demonstration was held to show parents and others how to fasten the seats.
In 2006, in addition to the nearly 500 children ages 4 through 7 who died in motor vehicle crashes in this country, nearly 50,000 were injured. Also, the same year nearly half of the children killed in crashes were not properly restrained.
Changing of the law makes Maryland the18th state to have a model child booster seat law as a result of recently passed legislation. In addition to protecting more child passengers, the new law makes Maryland eligible for additional federal highway safety funds over the next two years.
Kim Hoppe, spokeswoman for the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, said her organization became involved in the partnership with the state, Baltimore City Department of Transportation and others to deter loss of children’s lives after two people on the center’s staff helped push the bill.
She added that Dr. Allen Walker, director of the center’s Pediatric Emergency Medicine, is “hopeful the new law will put us out of business.”
