03/17/2009 01:00 PM House TRANSPORTATION

SB 72-CHILD SAFETY SEATS & SEAT BELTS                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
2:47:50 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR WILSON announced  that the next order of  business would be                                                               
CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 72(STA),  "An Act relating to use of child                                                               
safety seats and seat belts."                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
2:48:21 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  HOLLIS FRENCH,  Alaska State  Legislature, as  the prime                                                               
sponsor of the  bill read a portion of his  sponsor statement, as                                                               
follows:  [original punctuation provided]                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
     Booster seats  save lives.   Of  the 61  children under                                                                    
     the age  of eight injured  in auto accidents  in Alaska                                                                    
     between  2001  and  2005,  only  five  were  considered                                                                    
     properly restrained by federal  standards.   Nearly two                                                                    
     thirds of  those 61 children  were between the  ages of                                                                    
     four  to eight,  making  the injured  too  large for  a                                                                    
     child  safety seat  but  too small  for  an adult  seat                                                                    
     belt.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     Current Alaska  law requires the  use of  proper safety                                                                    
     devices for  children under the  age of 16  as approved                                                                    
     by the  US Department of Transportation.   The National                                                                    
     Highway Traffic  Safety Administration  recommends that                                                                    
     children under  80 pounds and  under 57 [inches]  use a                                                                    
     child safety seat or a belt positioning booster seat.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR FRENCH  explained that  the booster  seats basically                                                                    
lift  the child  so that  the seatbelt  strikes them  at the                                                                    
"right  part of  their body"  where their  muscular skeleton                                                                    
can stop  the impact of  a crash.   He concluded  by stating                                                                    
that is the basic overview of the bill.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
2:50:03 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR WILSON announced that SB 72 will be held over.