Local news does huge story on using boosters!

So, last night I was watching the Denver news and they had a whole story about how kids who are under 4'9" and 80 lbs. should be in a booster seat! They teased the story with the tag line "What you've been told about keeping your kids safe is wrong" (Colorado law says at 6 you can ride in a seatbelt).
They featured a mom who sadly lost her 5 year old daughter because she was in a regular seatbelt. She didn't know that a booster would be a better choice because the "law" says its OK for kids to be in a regular seatbelt after 4 (now it's 6, but then it was 4). Then they also featured a story of a mom and son who survived rolling down a mountain b/c he was in a booster. He's probably around 10 and is a huge booster advocate (cool to show an older kid who wants to be in a booster).
Anyway, next they did an "unscientific" test and took CPR dummies and showed the difference between seatbelts and boosters in a front end accident (just running it into a snowbank) and then did a "roll-over" simulation-- the dummy in just a seatbelt was literally broken in half, the dummy using a booster stayed pretty much in one place. They used a Turbobooster (which had the headrest too low in my amature opinon) and they ACTUALLY USED THE BACK!! Wow--what a concept!
They also showed photos from the hospital of "seatbelt syndrome" and other injuries kids can sustain from an improperly placed seatbelt during an accident.
Then at the end when they stopped the tape and were back to the studio, they just said something along the lines of , this is a really important topic and parents need to know that kids under 4'9" and 80 lbs need to be in a booster seat.

Anyway, I know it's not advocating for higher weight harnessing, but at least it's a start! And I thought it was really great they took the time to create those test to "show" parents the difference.

They said the story and additional information about car seat safety for kids and the simulation tests were all on their website TheDenverChannel.com

I haven't had a chance to go there this AM, and I'm headed to work...but thought I'd post this for you all to check out and get some feedback about what you think.

I was really suprised that they were being such advocates for better car seat use! (Ok, ok, at least getting kids into boosters! )

I didn't find the video with the snow bank crash tests but there are 3 other child restraint clips and another about seat belts. The videos looked good, I couldn't get any sound though.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/video/index.html

Titles of videos:
Are booster seats best for big kids?
2/12/07 - 10 p.m. -- The law says a 6-year-old can ride without a booster seat but the problem is every 6-year-old's body is different. Safety experts said age doesn't matter when it comes to restraining a child safely in a vehicle. It's their height and weight that matter most.

Are you using your child's car seat properly?
Car seats can do more harm than good if they aren't used properly.

Fasten your child's car seat in right.
Make sure you are putting the car seat in the car correctly.

This one isn't about car seats
Mom Says Seat Belt Would Have Save Daughter's Life
…A group in favor of tighter seat belt laws placed 282 pairs of shoes on the Capitol steps -- one for every person killed in…

Awesome!

Wow - what great reporting! So glad they got it right and didn't seem to put down the idea of boosters for older kids...

Wow, those were great! Thanks for posting them! I'm trying to figure out a way to save them more then temporarily now.

I just watched these. They are great. I wish one of the national news stations would pick up that series. I can't ever remember hearing or seeing anything like that.

Wow!!! Maybe this kind of thinking will become mainstream one day!

Wendy