Best website describing 5-Step Test?

So school is starting next week and the mom of my carpool boy has asked if he can ride in my car with no booster at all. CA law is 8 years old, which he is, BUT the problem is he's the size of a 5 year old! I'd say he's about 45" tall and 45lbs max. I have a Mazda5 and last year I made him sit in a highback TB since the 3rd row seatbelts didn't fit right with just a backless (they're too far forward). He no longer uses a booster at all in their cars. My DS1 rides in my car and her car in a highback booster at all times, and will again this school year even though he's 9" taller and 25lbs heavier than her son. Even my son doesn't pass the 5-Step Test yet. I'm thinking I should at least send her one link describing the 5-Step Test as I'm sure she's never heard of it. Her son was out of a booster at 6 years old, since that's what the CA law was before, but he had to start riding in one again when the new law came into practice last year. I told her that my 3rd row seatbelts just don't fit kids properly which is why he was in highback last year and she said "she" was ok with him having to sit in a booster, but that he really, really didn't want to. I'm hoping once she learns about the 5-Step Test, she'll tell him the booster is no longer an option (wishful thinking?)

So, what website has the best description of the 5-Step Test, why it is important, and has pics?

Here's the one that I like:

www.carseat.org/Boosters/630.pdf

So I ended up sending her a link to the carseatblog. I liked that it had real life pictures of both kids in regular seat belts and then booster seats showing the differences in fit. And then it showed two kids that actually passed the 5-step test.

http://carseatblog.com/3966/the-5-step-test/

And this is the short little message I sent her in an email. Does it sound ok? Not too preachy or judgy (is that a word!)

Oh, and here's a link to the 5-Step Test, which is the test used to see if kids fit in the adult seatbelt properly. Even though the new booster law is 8 years old, that's the minimum and certified carseat techs say to go by whether they pass the 5-Step Test, not by age. Conner doesn't pass the test yet, which is why he's still in a booster. I'm just a stickler since car crashes are the number one cause of death in kids and if god forbid we were to get in a crash I'd want everyone in my car to be as safe as possible.

This one references CA law: http://carseat.org/Resources/630CA.pdf

ketchupqueen said:

This one references CA law: http://carseat.org/Resources/630CA.pdf

Click to expand...

You're in LA right? Do you ever do presentations at schools? I'd love to have a tech come talk to the parents about boosters at our school. We're a small K-4th charter school with 220 kids and the parents are all very involved. I think our principal would be very open to the idea. And since we only go up to 4th grade right now, all the kids are either 9 years old or younger and should all probably be in a booster.

I'm in LA but school presentations are personally difficult for me timing wise (stay home homeschooling parent and about to have a new baby.) However if you're interested and can get your principal on board, SafetyBeltSafe might be able to send a few people to do a booster/five step test presentation... There would possibly be a small expense involved to cover costs. But if you start talking to people and that's something that generates interest, lmk and I'll get you some contact info.

Thanks! And I forgot you were pregnant! I'll let you know if I get a chance to talk to the principal. When are you due?

Oh, about three weeks.