Statewide program to highlight new booster seat law
STAR PRESS STAFF REPORT

Muncie - The Delaware County Sheriff's office will participate in a statewide safety-belt enforcement blitz to highlight the booster seat law that will take effect July 1.
    "We will be on the lookout for and ticketing those violating Indiana's existing safety-belt laws, but we also want to make sure people are prepared for the important changes that will take place this summer," said Lt. Arlan Johnson.
    The law will require all children under eight to be secured in child safety seats or booster seats. It also will require all kids up to age 16 to be restrained in a child restraint system or a safety belt in all seating positions in all vehicles. Those over age 16 must be restrained when riding in the front seat of passenger vehicles.
    In the United States, an average of six children below the age of 14 were killed and 694 were injured daily in motor vehicle crashes during 2003.
    Children, as they grow, should progress through three types of child safety seats before using the safety belt alone:
                rear-facing seats
                forward-facing seats
                booster seats
    Booster seats raise children up so that safety belts fit properly. Eighty-three percent of children between the ages of four and eight are inappropriately placed in adult safety belts.
    Those who violate the new law commit a Class D infraction, which carries a $25 fine. However, offenders can avoid the fine if they prove they have obtained an adequate restraint system for their children.
    Fines collected under the law will be deposited into a state fund that will be used to make grants to public and private organizations for the purchase and distribution of child-restraint systems to those who are unable to afford them.
    This campaign is sponsored by the Governor's Council on Impaired & Dangerous Driving, a division of the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute. Federal funding for the initiative is provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
 
For more information regarding child passenger safety, contact the Automotive Safety Program at (800) KID-N-CAR or visit www.preventinjury.org.