Doctors want children up to 12 in booster seats

Children up to 12 years old should be required to sit in booster seats while travelling in cars, say doctors at the Starship in Auckland.

A study by emergency and intensive care doctors at the Starship found that lap seatbelts can cause life-threatening injuries or permanent disabilities in children.

But the researchers noted that many of the patients would probably have suffered worse injuries if they had not used any seatbelt.

The researchers called for legislation:

* To phase out lap belts.

* To require children under 35kg or 145cm (milestones usually passed from 8 to 12 years) to use booster seats.

The reaction of many older children to this news seems to be: No way! Booster seats are for babies!

Leaving behind the raised booster seat, which allows a lap-and-diagonal seatbelt to sit more safely on a child's body, has long been a rite of passage.

Using a booster seat, the belt lies correctly across the shoulder and upper legs. Without one it crosses the neck and stomach, putting children at risk of injuries from the belt's pressure on the wrong places in crashes.

Ten-year-old Oscar Johnston, of Mt Albert in Auckland, said that if he was forced back into a booster seat, "it would be really humiliating".

His schoolmate at Gladstone Primary School, James Drummond, could see the safety angle and said a booster seat would improve his view, but "it would be a bit uncomfortable".

Jack Schwarz, aged 10, from Pt Chevalier, said using a booster seat would be safer. Would he sit in one? "Not in front of my friends, unless they had to as well."

Sanjana Mehta, an 11-year-old at Kowhai Intermediate in Mt Eden, said a booster seat might be safer for her and she would not feel like a baby.

Her father, Dipen Mehta, said he would consider having Sanjana sit in one after hearing of the risks involved in not using them.

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Transport said it wanted to see the Starship research, but was not currently considering such changes.

No "substantive information" had shown a need to alter seatbelt rules urgently and the legislation on child restraints was "quite adequate".

Children in cars must travel in an approved child restraint up to age 5. Those aged 5 to 8 must too, if one is available.

Children's Commissioner Cindy Kiro could see the sense of children up to 12 using booster seats, but said education, not legislation, was needed. Parents encouraging older children to use booster seats would help by making the practice more common, but the key message was to ensure all children wore seatbelts.