New R.I. law requires booster seats for children under 8
3:31 PM Fri, Sep 11, 2009 | Permalink
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Rhode Island Department of Transportation said Friday that it wants motorists to become aware of a new law on child automotive restraints that went into effect in July. Children under 8 are now required to ride in appropriate child restraint seats, the DOT said. "For the safety of all passengers, we want to remind parents and caregivers just how important it is to properly restrain a child while traveling in a motor vehicle," RIDOT director Michael P. Lewis said in a news release. "The goal is to decrease injuries and deaths to our children riding in our motor vehicles. If caregivers buckle up and children are properly restrained, motor vehicle injuries and fatalities will be greatly reduced." The new law that states that children, up to their eighth birthday, unless they are 4'9" (57 inches) tall or 80 pounds in weight, must ride in appropriate child restraint seats. The previous law required that children up to their seventh birthday had to ride in the appropriate child-restraint seat, unless they were 54 inches in height or 80 pounds in weight. The DOT said that in enacting the change in the law, the General Assembly followed the safety recommendations of the National Traffic Safety Administration. Rhode Island received over $92,000 which will be used this year to purchase booster seats, disseminate information about the new law, conduct car-seat checks, and train child passenger -safety technicians. 
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With a safety issue as important as this, why did it take RIDOT 2 months to get a PR campaign out there. This should have been in the Media the day it was enacted and heavily promoted by the media outlets, local & state police depts., and RIDOT. Hope nobody had a loved one injured in the meantime. Sometimes silence isn't golden.
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