Dear ____________:

I am writing to seek your support for House Bill 320.

The best protection for children in the 4 to 8 year-old range is to place the child in the rear with a belt-positioning booster seat.
           
Booster seats help protect children from injury and death in crashes by ensuring that the adult seat belt fits properly. Proper fit reduces the risk of "lap belt syndrome," which occurs when the lap belt portion of the adult seat belt rides up into a child's abdomen, potentially causing internal injuries to the liver and spleen.           

The effectiveness of booster seats in protecting children from serious crash-related injuries is well documented.

For example, a study by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (Dr.'s Durbin, Winston, as published in JAMA, June 4, 2003) reported that booster seats reduced the odds of sustaining significant injuries in a crash by 59 percent of children ages 4-7. The seats were especially effective in reducing injuries to the abdomen, neck, spine, back, and lower extremities.

All too often, children over the age of 4 prematurely graduate to the manufacturer-installed safety belts. These are systems that are designed and tested for 168-pound adult males.
             
There is also an economic incentive to support this legislation. The federal transportation reauthorization of 2005, SAFETEA-LU, provides Child Passenger Safety grants to states that enact and enforce booster seat laws.

Financially, $1.35 million would be available to Ohio if a primary enforcement booster seat law were enacted. Up to 50 percent of those funds could be used for low-income eligible families to pay for as many as 25,000 booster seats.

With 42 states already having a similar measure in place to protect older children in vehicles, let's make Ohio the 43rd.  Please support HB 320.

Sincerely,

_____________