Alberta booster seat law discussion

[snowbird25ca]

I have it on good authority that with the current minister who is in charge of transportation, there is only 1 hope of having booster legislation brought in - a letter writing campaign to individual MLA's. In order for this to work, it would need to be done by a lot of people - so everyone would need to network with friends and family members to have as many people as possible write letters, and the letters would need to be cc'ed to the premier and the Oulette - the minister of transport. (Have to check his spelling, I'm not sure if that's correct off the top of my head. :o)

So I'm starting this thread to hopefully start some action, and so we can have discussion points/sample letters of things to include. A petition was considered in the conversation I had, but petitions are not as effective as individual letters written by a mass of people.

I know we have quite a number of Albertans on the forum here, so I'm hoping we can get a good size movement.

Important points that I think should be included in the letter:

- booster is most misunderstood stage of child restraints
- collisions are the number one killer of children under age 14 in Canada
- seatbelt laws protect adults and older children who fit the seatbelt correctly
- a seatbelt which doesn't fit correctly does not protect the child who is sitting in it.
- "seatbelt syndrome" is a likely outcome with a child who doesn't fit the seatbelt correctly, and can be fatal
- a booster allows the seatbelt to fit correctly and for the force to be spread across the bony structure of the child. It prevents the lap belt from riding up on to the soft abdomen.

Child restraint laws and seatbelt laws exist to protect occupants. The current law doesn't address the fact that children over 40lbs but less than 9yrs old or under 80lbs are not optimally protected unless a booster is used. This gap in legislation is doing a disservice to children and causing needless injury, deaths, pain, and suffering as a result. As the most misunderstood stage in child restraints, legislation is needed to motivate parents to properly restrain their children.

Alberta is a strong province with a strong economy given the times. It is unfortunate that the province is one of the last provinces to recognize the need to bring in legislation which protects booster size/age children.

(etc, add in your own thoughts...)

So - who is up for this? We can find a fax # to the premier's office and the minister of transportation maybe and post that on this thread here, and then we would just each have to mail one letter to our local MLA.

It would be possible to create a partial form letter, but it will have more impact with a personal statement from each person in the letter, so I think if we chose to go that way only some of the wording should be the same.

The basic reason behind the need for this is apparently the person in the position to bring in this legislation is of the belief that Albertans don't like to be told what to do so he has no interest in bringing in a booster law. So if we want to see a booster law, we need to show him that it is what the people want - or get enough MLA's to understand the importance of a booster law to place pressure on him until he agrees...

[marciemp]

I am so glad you brought this up. It appauls me to see how tiny some of the kids are in my daughters kindergarten class who ride in seat belts alone. I think at their age, size and maturity level they are even too small for boosters, but that is a whole other problem, and the first thing to be addressed is that these tiny tiny kids are not safe in the adult seat belt.

I am not a fire starter, and although I was thinking about this exact same thing as I drove my kids around to look at and test HWH seats today, I wouldn't know what to do or where to start. I am all for writing a letter to fax to whoever needs to be told, and I will ask my family and friends to do the same. I should tell them to write the letter and e-mail it to me and I will fax it for them, to make it easier. Do you know if there is an e-mail address to write the politicians too?
Thanks,

[Shanora]

I'm all for this as well, however I suck at wording things properly, so if we could come up with a basic outline letter that we can add our own individual stuff to that would be awesome!!

[marciemp]

Yes even some ideas for what needs to be said and mentioned would help

[snowbird25ca]

Ok, I'll see what I can do - someone will need to help me with the formatting as it's been quite a long time since I took English and letter formatting isn't my strong suit. I think this is a good start..

~~~~~

Dear Mr. (or Mrs.) (put in your MLA's name here)

I am contacting you to express my concerns about the lack of legislation regarding how children under age 9 who are over 40lbs but less than 80lbs are restrained in vehicles. Most provinces in Canada now have booster legislation in place to protect these children, and unfortunately Alberta has yet to update the current legislation in a way that provides protection for this vulnerable population.

The present law requires that children remain in a harness until 6yrs old or 40lbs. Once a child is either 6yrs old, or 40lbs, the law only requires that a child wear a seatbelt.

A lot of people aren't aware that vehicles are equipped with seatbelts that are designed to fit adults. When a small child is placed in the adult seatbelt, it results in the lap section sitting high on the abdomen instead of across the hips where it is meant to sit, and the shoulder belt cutting across the neck and sometimes even in front of the face. As a result children often tuck the shoulder belt behind their backs, or under their arms - both of which can result in severe injuries including ejection, submarining further under the lap portion of the seatbelt, seatbelt syndrome, and internal injuries including spinal cord injuries. All of these injuries are preventable with the use of a booster seat which positions the seatbelt so that it fits properly.

Motor vehicle collisions are the number one killer of children under age 14 in Canada. Use of proper restraints significantly reduces the likelihood of severe injury and death, and using a booster is a step that no parent should be skipping. The last data released by Safe Kids Canada "indicated that three-quarters of Canadian parents with children 4-9 years old don't use booster seats." This is a significant portion of our children who are not being adequately protected in vehicles.

The Alberta Occupant Restraint Program has put together a website which you may find useful if you need to further research why booster seats are important. The website is http://www.health-in-action.org/boosterseats/prof.html

As a parent, a children restraints system technician/instructor, and a concerned citizen, I believe it is in the best interest of children and their parents that booster seat legislation be tabled in the Legislature and pressure be placed on the Minister of Transportation to support it. Most other provinces in Canada have already enacted booster seat legislation and it is unfortunate that Alberta is one of the last provinces to recognize the importance of protecting this demographic of children in vehicles. I urge you to put this at the top of your priority list and become an advocate for this important issue.

Sincerely,


cc:
cc:

eta: This could be tweaked to add your own concerns, if you're not a technician, then don't put that there. If you're not a parent, then just a concerned citizen. There's no reason to limit this to only parents - caregivers, grandparents, aunts, uncles - almost everybody has children in their life in some fashion. It's important that the letter not be used word for word amongst everybody because it will have less impact if the same letter is received over and over.

[Neatfreak]

I'm still an Alberta property owner and I still pay taxes, so I don't see why I can't contact my MLA as well ...

I think that your letter is great, Trudy. The tone is very "concerned person" ...

[snowbird25ca]

I'm still an Alberta property owner and I still pay taxes, so I don't see why I can't contact my MLA as well ...

I think that your letter is great, Trudy. The tone is very "concerned person" ...

Absolutely. The more who contact the better. :)

Here's some beginning info: (This info is readily available on the government website, so is ok to re-post here)

Honourable Luke Ouellette, Minister of Transportation
Legislature Office
#320 Legislature Building
10800 - 97 Avenue
Edmonton, AB
Canada T5K 2B6
Phone: (780) 427-2080
Fax: (780) 422-2722

Premier Ed Stelmach
Legislature Office
307 Legislature Building
10800 97 Avenue
Edmonton, AB
Canada T5K 2B6
Phone: (780) 427-2251
Fax: (780) 427-1349

Website to find your MLA and contact info: http://www.assembly.ab.ca/net/index.aspx?p=mla_home&rnumber=55&by=contact

[just_lily]

I know this is a few days old, but I am just catching up :)

Politically I fall more towards the libertarian end of the spectrum, but I still think we should have stronger child seat laws. Ours in Alberta are woefully lacking. A 2.5yo in my day home rides in his mom's car in a backless booster, but he is 40lbs, so it is "legal".

I generally believe that people should be allowed to do what they want, but the problem with carseat laws is that most people assume that if it is "legal" it is the safest option. So in order to keep kids safe, the only option is to change what is "legal".

Trudy, can I copy that letter to email around to other people? I am not sure if I will be able to generate much interest unfortunately - almost everyone I know thinks I am nuts for being so concerned about carseats. *sigh*

[snowbird25ca]

I know this is a few days old, but I am just catching up :)

Politically I fall more towards the libertarian end of the spectrum, but I still think we should have stronger child seat laws. Ours in Alberta are woefully lacking. A 2.5yo in my day home rides in his mom's car in a backless booster, but he is 40lbs, so it is "legal".

I generally believe that people should be allowed to do what they want, but the problem with carseat laws is that most people assume that if it is "legal" it is the safest option. So in order to keep kids safe, the only option is to change what is "legal".

Trudy, can I copy that letter to email around to other people? I am not sure if I will be able to generate much interest unfortunately - almost everyone I know thinks I am nuts for being so concerned about carseats. *sigh*

Go ahead and copy the main part - just edit out the technician/instructor section. :thumbsup:

The saddest part, is that that 40lb kid is actually legal in just a plain seatbelt and currently isn't even legally required to have a booster. Some parents are getting the message that boosters are important, but unfortunately some people just won't do it unless there are laws to tell them it's important.

Look at bike helmets... how many parents do you see wearing helmets when riding with their kids? They're required for kids, but not for adults. And I'd hazard a guess that more than 75% of parents don't wear helmets. Helmets are equally important for everyone, but we let adults decide for themselves.... At least adults reap the consequences for themselves... kids are put at a disadvantage when their parents don't use a booster because it's not law and they haven't learned why they're important. In an ideal world, we wouldn't need laws to tell parents to keep their kids safe in vehicles... but we don't live in an ideal world...

(I'm probably pretty liberal in a lot of areas too - if not most, and I understand it being a really hard balancing act. There are some things as a society though that we need to legislate in order to get people to understand the importance. I personally know people who would quit using carseats the second the law no longer required it even if it meant carrying a newborn in their arms...)

[just_lily]

I just sent out the emails :thumbsup:

My MLA is Janis Tarchuk, who is also the minister for child and youth services so hopefully SOMEONE will pay attention if we don't let the issue die.

You are right about the fact that the 2.5yo could actually just be in a seatbelt. I shudder at the thought. He has a hard enough time sitting still at my table long enough to eat his lunch, he is DEFINITELY not mature enough to not be harnessed.

I am just trying to set an example. My little one turns one-year-old next weekend and I am counting the days for the first person to ask me why she is still RFing.

[snowbird25ca]

I just sent out the emails :thumbsup:

My MLA is Janis Tarchuk, who is also the minister for child and youth services so hopefully SOMEONE will pay attention if we don't let the issue die.

You are right about the fact that the 2.5yo could actually just be in a seatbelt. I shudder at the thought. He has a hard enough time sitting still at my table long enough to eat his lunch, he is DEFINITELY not mature enough to not be harnessed.

I am just trying to set an example. My little one turns one-year-old next weekend and I am counting the days for the first person to ask me why she is still RFing.

Awesome! I've never been asked by anyone about ds. I keep waiting for the day someone in the parking lot decides to say something, but it hasn't happened yet. :p My family knows me too well to say anything - though when dd rf'ed for a month before her 4th birthday my mom asked dd if she was comfortable. To which she replied that she was and liked being "backwards." :p

[AWW]

I think this is a great idea. By chance will there be a website or anything that one could reference other people to? If there was a place to direct people to check out info or with a basic form letter then it would be easier for more people to receive info on it and to contact their MLA. It wouldn't even have to be a big website, even a blog with MLA info, the current law and a sample form letter.