Car-Seat and Booster Seat Law Changes To Make Make Kids Safer Behind the Wheel? House Majority Says "Not Now."

In early March, House Bill 1468 aiming to make Tennessee’s child passenger restraint laws more stringent, passed in the Senate unanimously and in the House with a 68-19 vote. It was nearly signed by Governor Haslam until it got wait-listed on Tuesday, March 22 in the State House Transportation Committee over the unclear language concerning booster seat law. 

According to the Tennessean, Democratic Representative John Ray Clemmons of Nashville said his bill was aimed at bringing Tennessee up to date with recommendations of physicians and auto manufacturers ensuring that “kids up to the age of 2 — whose necks and bones have not fully developed — are protected.”  This information is consistent with the American Academy of Pediatrics’ research which indicates that toddlers are more than five times safer riding rear-facing in a car safety seat.  Current law requires rear-facing car seats until age 1; forward-facing car seats until age 3; and booster seats until age 8.  The bill would change those rules to require rear-facing seats until age 2; forward-facing car seats until age 5; and booster seats until children turn 12 or reach a height of 4’9”.

The arguments against the bill were two-fold because the bill itself covered both the rear-facing issue as well as the age/booster seat issue.

There was much contention from some parents who said that their toddler’s legs are just too long to keep them rear-facing until age 2 and that if they were in a crash their legs would could be badly injured.  However, Rhonda Phillippi  of Tennessee Emergency Medical Services for Children told the committee that children under 2 are 75% safer in rear-facing seats and that “having a seat backwards makes the crash forces go across the back of the car seat instead of the soft tissues of the child and their underdeveloped bone structure.”

In the media that same sentiment was reiterated time and time again by medical professionals from around across the nation who have come face to face with auto wrecks in which toddlers and children have died because of improper seatbelt, car-seat, and booster seat use.  “For the shorter, smaller child, the ones that weigh less, to raise them up off the car seat a little bit onto the booster so that the seat belt crosses them around the chest and not around the neck, you would save dozens of lives per year,” said Neil Stinson, RN, EMT, a clinical staff leader at the pediatric emergency room at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.

Despite some public backlash, it wasn’t the rear-facing car seat language that killed the progress of the bill, it was the “booster seat until 12” language that made it hard for the House Republican Majority to chew.

Clemmons argued that the 12-year-old rule is already state law unless children are taller than 4 feet 9 inches. But, House Republicans argued that the most common interpretation is that the booster seat requirement ends at age 8. Tennessee Code Annotated  §55-9-603 (3) provides that: 

…any person transporting any child, four (4) through eight (8) years of age and measuring less than four feet, nine inches (4′ 9″) in height, in a passenger motor vehicle upon a road, street or highway of Tennessee is responsible for the protection of the child and properly using a belt positioning booster seat system, meeting federal motor vehicle safety standards in the rear seat if available or according to the child safety restraint system or vehicle manufacturer’s instructions.

Yet under §55-9-603 subsection (g) (1) it also reads:

(g)  (1)  (A)  Notwithstanding the provisions of §55-9-603, any person transporting any child, nine (9) through twelve (12) years of age, or any child through twelve (12) years of age, measuring four feet, nine inches (4′ 9″) or more in height, in a passenger motor vehicle upon a road, street or highway of Tennessee is responsible for the protection of the child and properly using a seat belt system meeting federal motor vehicle safety standards. It is recommended that any such child be placed in the rear seat if available.

So although Clemmons is right in stating that the law already states that any child between 4-12 who is less than 4’9” is required to be in a booster seat,  the semantics are confusing says Blountville Republican, Tim Hill: “Because I feel like from a perception standpoint and a reality standpoint, there’s just been a tremendous amount of discussion, inaccuracies and questions.”

And discussion- it has raised.  This topic has ignited a storm of debate across the internet.  One Tennessean reader struck a chord with other misinformed supporters when he angrily vented:

“What about 4’8″ adults? This is ridiculous. A lot of 11 year old kids couldn’t even fit in a booster seat because of their weight.” 

Soon all the comment sections coverage on Senate Bill 1674 were lighting up with 4’8 adults worrying that they were now going to have to go out and buy  booster seats.   Though nothing more than a misinformed rant, we knew that we’d be sure to get a rise from our own 4’11, fiercely opinionated super paralegal, Carmen Garner.  We expected a fiery response but what we got was careful and calculated:

“If I was two inches shorter and had to drive from a booster seat- it is what it is.  If I’m safer that’s all that matters.  If a law saves lives who cares what I look like in a raised seat that would typically be used by children.  Safety should always be the priority of anyone behind the wheel and I hope that’s how parents are seeing it for their older children.”

Other public arguments contended that age and height doesn’t necessarily determine whether someone should physically require a booster for safety; that sometimes weight may also be a factor or even physical disability and disfigurements.

Have a Seat Let’s Clear the Air

This bill has nothing to do with adults, though it does make mention of height, it is specific  to children only.

“Children older than 8 but shorter than 4 feet 9 inches are at risk of decapitation because of the height of the rear seat belt,” Representative Clemmons plead to the committee.

Why Could A 12 Year Old Need A Booster Seat?

The reason for a booster seat is to better position the child in an adult seat belt. Children less than 4’9’’, when wearing the adult seat belt, will typically have the shoulder portion across their neck and the lap portion of the belt over their belly button area. If the belt is in this position in a crash, the child could suffer severe neck, abdominal and spine injuries. This common injury is called “seat belt syndrome.”

By using a booster, the shoulder strap goes across the center of the collarbone and the lap belt over the child’s bony pelvis, thus preventing these serious injuries.

It’s also important to note that the upper weight limit on booster seats ranges from 80 to 100 pounds, depending on the model; so check your child’s seat for its weight limit. Custom booster seats are recommended for children under 9 but over 100 pounds because they generally exceed the weight limit of the individual booster seat manufacturer guidelines and seatbelt safety guidelines.

Although Rep. Clemmons’ removed  the “confusing” language about booster seats from the bill,  it wasn’t enough to persuade skeptical Republicans, who supported the House Majorities efforts to put off the Bill.

The Controversial Take Away

Despite the fact that this Bill was sent back to the drawing board, the important take away is that as a parent is that it was based on actual scientific data and you should carefully consider or re-consider if at present, your toddler should be riding in his/her car-seat in the rear-facing position.  Even if you’ve already made the switch to front-facing and have been gazing upon their lovely little smiles and cries through the rear-view mirror, you can still switch them back to rear-facing without a great deal of long-term resentment and dramatics.

Secondly, if your child is under 4’9” and 12 years of age, deciding to use a booster seat may be worth considering.  Check their height and compare with seatbelt safety guidelines to make sure the seat belt is fitting them properly with their back all the way in seat.  Doing so might save your child from life-threatening injuries in the event of a car wreck.

While it is a bit questionable and disconcerting that a Bill such as this, that hurts no one and could possibly save the lives of children is so quickly denied on the legislative floor (even after revising the parts that were of concern); while the same House Majority that said no to House Bill 1468 easily pushes through Bills that are harmful to people and to our land, Bills that close the doors to the courthouse and dispose of workers’ rights, and rob Tennesseans of fair compensation and deserved benefits for injuries in personal injury lawsuits.  There seems to be something fishy going on here.

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