Booster Program Aims to Teach Students Vehicle Safety

State traffic safety officials are hoping to get more New Jersey children in booster seats.

Representatives of Traffic Safety Projects, the state highway traffic safety division and Union County police are working to teach children the importance of proper seatbelt usage. A program on the topic could come to Scotch Plains-Fanwood in the coming months as part of police curriculum in the schools.

Officials held such a workshop at McKinley School in Westfield on Wednesday. The neighboring town was selected as one of two pilot sites for the program, which is set to be taught to students in Camden County today. 

Stressing the importance of proper seatbelt usage for children, traffic safety officials showed the second and third graders at McKinley School what they should look for when they are riding in a car. 

"We are trying to reach the older kids," Fred Lyle with the state highway traffic safety division said. "We want to teach the kids what a seatbelt is and what a booster seat does."

The goal of the workshop is to let students know about the role booster seats play in protecting them. Designed to provide a better fit for children with regards to seatbelts, state law mandates they be used for children up until age 8 or when they reach 80 pounds, whichever comes first.

"What we are seeing is parents are using infant seats and seats for toddlers, but not booster seats," said Christine Headricks-Hasenauer, traffic safety coordinator for the county police.

Lyle said that while the law gives an age and weight requirement, there are other things to look for.

He said that it could be that a child does not fit a seatbelt even if they have reached the age and weight requirements. During the workshop, the group used a car seat to demonstrate what kids should look for when they are riding in a car with a seatbelt.

Lyle said the belt needs to go over the shoulder and cross over the child's bones in the hip and waist area. The belt should not go over the fleshy areas of the body, like the stomach.

If a child is in a car with an ill-fitting seatbelt and the car is in an accident, the child risks greater injuries. Headricks-Hasenauer said with the belt resting on the fleshy areas, the injuries could include those to internal organs.

"Booster seats should be used with a lap/shoulder belt combo," she said.

Lyle said it's common to hear that about half of students are using booster seats, while the other half are using them less frequently. Headricks-Hasenauer said at the county police's car seat inspection station in Springfield, it is more common to see parents come in regarding seats for infants and toddlers and not children.

The officials said the goal of this program is to reduce the number of children who aren't using the boosters. They said the program will include police officers who are trained safety seat educators conducting workshops in schools and to other groups to boost awareness of the booster seats.

"Kids are getting hurt and we are able to identify why they are getting hurt," Traffic Safety Projects' Joseph Colella said of the program.