Mass. booster seat law goes into effect Thursday

July 9, 2008 08:07 PM Email| Comments (0)| Text size – +

By Globe Staff

Buckle up those kids! The state's new booster seat law goes into effect Thursday.

The law requires children to ride in either car seats or booster seats until they turn 8 years old.

The purpose of a booster seat is to position the safety belt across the child's waist and shoulder, rather than halfway up his or her midsection or neck. Children at least 4 feet 9 inches tall would be exempt from the child-seat requirement.

The new law carries a $25 fine. The law is a primary enforcement law, which means that police can stop a car if they see a child who isn't buckled up properly.

Under the current law, children are required to be in car seats until they turn 5 or weigh at least 40 pounds. The new law replaces the weight requirement with a height requirement.

"This really is a booster seat law. ... It's covering that transition period between the child safety seats and the adult belts," said Lieutenant Eric Anderson, a State Police spokesman.

Anderson said that if kids aren't properly restrained it's a "deadly situation."

"We're looking to make sure the kids in the Commonwwealth are safe, that's our real goal," he said.

Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for children ages 3 to 14 nationally, the State Police said this week. A state survey last year found that only 69 percent of front seat occupants in Massachusetts used a seat belt, compared with an 82 percent usage rate nationally.

That's a sobering statistic, considering that safety belts reduce the risk of death or serious injury in a crash by up to 50 percent, State Police said.

Dozens of people commented on boston.com, not all favorably, when Governor Deval Patrick signed the legislation earlier this year.