States Look at Child Safety Needs in Cars.

• Position: Brief Article

Children grow quickly, but often not fast enough to effectively use safety equipment like car seat belts designed for adults.

In 1996, while visiting family in Yakima, Wash., Autumn Skeen and her 4-year-old son Anton were both buckled up using standard lap/shoulder belts. A sudden gust of wind caused Autumn to lose control of her sport utility vehicle. The ensuing crash caused Anton's small body to slip out from under the seat belt and to be thrown from the vehicle--he was killed instantly.

Skeen made a common mistake in thinking that Anton was big enough to fit in the vehicle seat without a child safety seat. Skeen was obeying Washington state law at that time that requires children to be secured in a child safety seat until age 3. In truth, most children outgrow those seats, but are still too small to be safe with seat belts designed for adults. In an effort to address this safety issue, the...