Group pushes for reform in child safety seat law

<br>OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Oklahoma's child passenger safety law falls short of national standards when it comes to requiring young children to be strapped to toddler seats, a child safety group said

Friday, February 15th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Oklahoma's child passenger safety law falls short of national standards when it comes to requiring young children to be strapped to toddler seats, a child safety group said Thursday.

The Oklahoma SAFE KIDS Coalition urged lawmakers to toughen the state's law and require child passengers to be in boosters until they are 6 years old. The existing statute allows children to be moved from toddler seats to seat belts when they are 4.

``Although that is legal, it is not at all safe,'' said Martha Collar, the coalition's coordinator. ``Seat belts are not made for young children.''

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration has recommended that children remain in booster seats until they are 8, she said.

The coalition supports Senate Bill 910 by Sen. Ben Robinson, D-Muskogee. The measure is scheduled to be heard by the Senate Public Safety Committee.

The measure would require children to be in boosters until they are 6 and would close a loophole in the state law that exempts out-of-state motorists from its provisions.

The statute was enacted in 1984 before all 50 states required child passengers to be restrained, Collar said.

``Right now, motorists with an out-of-state driver's license can legally drive down the road with a child in their lap and they cannot be ticketed,'' Collar said.

State Department of Health statistics indicate that car crashes are the leading health risk for children over age 1.

In Oklahoma, more than 20 children under 6 die each year in motor vehicle crashes and more than 1,100 children are injured seriously enough to require medical treatment.

More than 70 percent of the children who die are not in a child safety seat.