New Booster Seat Law Takes Effect In Massachusetts

12:53PM / Wednesday, July 09, 2008Print Story | Email Story

Thursday ushers in a new era in child passenger safety in Massachusetts as a new booster seat law takes effect ninety days after Governor Deval Patrick signed the legislation. For the past several years, AAA Southern New England has been the primary proponent of this law, which requires booster seats for children up to their eighth birthday, or until they reach 4 feet 9 inches in height--whichever comes first.

“Parents are bombarded with health and safety messages regarding their kids,” says Arthur Kinsman, Director of Government Affairs for AAA Southern New England. “Their priority filters tell them that if a warning is not a law, the potential is not life-threatening. Nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to properly securing our kids.”

Studies show nine out of ten parents believe that if they adhere to their state’s current child passenger safety law, they’ll be taking the necessary steps to protect their children. “Previously, parents were given a false sense of security by following the letter of the Commonwealth’s law, and, in the process, unknowingly endangering their children,” said Mr. Kinsman. “Finally the law has caught up to best practice.”

"With the booster seat law going into effect, now is a great time to remind parents that booster seats save lives. Often, a seat belt alone is not enough to protect a child, or is even harmful because the child is not big enough to wear the seat belt properly. Booster seats help solve this problem," said Representative Michael Costello, Chair of the Joint Committee on Public Safety & Homeland Security. "This is a simple, inexpensive way that parents can protect their children while they are driving."

According to AAA, height is the best indicator of when a child can be safely buckled in an adult safety belt, because the booster seat raises up a child so that the seat belt is properly positioned across a child’s lap and chest. The age cutoff is important because it prevents smaller adults from being subject to the law.

"The purpose of this law is to save children’s lives," says Senator Steven A. Baddour, (D-Methuen), the bill’s sponsor and Chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation. "We must continue to educate parents about how they can protect their kids in the case of an accident – something I think any parent would do if they truly knew of the risks involved without booster seats."

Booster seats are available in some department stores for as little as $15, and for parents facing financial hardships, free booster seats are available through the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security/Highway Safety Division. For more information on free seats, Massachusetts residents can call the Child Passenger Safety Hotline at 1-877-392-5956, or TTY 1-617-725-0261 (for the hearing impaired,) or log on to www.mass.gov/child safety seats.

The fine for violating the new law would be $25 per child. Forty-three states and the District of Columbia have booster seat laws in place.

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Your Comments

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I think this law is fine. What I do not agree with is the fact that a 5 yearold child get on a school bus and not only has no booster seat, but no seat belt. Try explaining to your child that is ok on the bus, but not in your car. Laws should be laws for all vehicles.
from: Sue	on: 07-11-2008 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

I think this legislation is absolutely ridiculous. Age should never be brought into the argument. We need to figure out what the height and weight limits should be and write the law that way. You have to have a booster seat if you are under x pounds or x height. period. The legislature don't want to offend small adults by telling them that they need a booster to be safe. That basically says that an 18 year olds life is worth less than an 8 year olds. I am a parent of 3 under 8 and I know when my children are safely buckled into the car or not. Parents whom can't figure that out should have a resource to go to for helpful guidlines.
from: Bob	on: 07-13-2008 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

I think that there should be a law passed for children on school buses. They are neither in booster seats or buckled in with seat belts. Explain why it is ok for massachusetts to set the laws, yet at the same time break them? Should not public transportation be held to adhere to the law as well? Maybe parents should start fileing saftey complaints on the school transportation, or just start refusing to send their children on the buses until they add seatbelts to protect our children. If a parent is abusive in anyway, they step in to correct the situation, yet they never step in and say they are at fault. It is always the parent that will be found at fault for something but never the system. Parents need to start holding the system accountable for protectin our kids when we as parents are not the ones transporting them to and from school or any school function.
from: a concerned person	on: 07-16-2008 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

While I agree with the new booster seat law, I disagree with the comments about wanting seat belts on school buses. As a former driver, I have seen 2 buses catch on fire. If I had to safely evacuated 77 buckled, panicked, confused children, through smoke and flames, odds are not all of us would make it out safely.
from: julie	on: 07-16-2008 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

In reference to a post on here about not agreeing to seatbelts on school buses. Maybe they shouldn't allow so many children on one bus. I can remember riding on those buses, and that is way to many children for one person to safely watch let alone try and help should something happen on the bus. Try making more "smaller" buses and creat more jobs for the people. Or, if you keep the large buses, add more adults on it to help care for and watch the children. Lets face it, teachers and school bus drivers have too much to handle with class sizes as big as they are and buses with as many children on them with only one adult per class/bus. Then they can safely keep our kids safe with proper safety measures. Any other vehicle has to have seat belts to keep not only the adult safe but the kids as well. Lets face it, they make sure the driver is safe with a seat belt, are our childrens lives not as important? If you don't want seat belts on buses then maybe the driver shouldn't have one either. Their life isn't any more important then my own childs, nor is it any less important. I stand firm in believing that both drivers and passengers of ANY motor vehicle (cars, trucks, vans, and yes buses), should have seatbelts to keep ALL occupants safe and out of harms way.
from: a concerned person	on: 07-16-2008 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

Possible Measles Exposure at Boston, Logan

12:05PM / Wednesday, December 24, 2025

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Public Health confirmed Wednesday that an out-of-state adult visitor who spent time in Boston and Westborough earlier this month was diagnosed with measles and was present in a number of locations.

This could have resulted in other people being exposed to measles virus.

The visitor arrived at Logan International Airport on American Airlines flight 2384 from Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, on Dec. 11 at 2:39 p.m. They stayed at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Boston-Westborough in Westborough and departed the state on Dec. 12 via Logan at 9:19 p.m. on JetBlue flight 117 to Las Vegas.

DPH is working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local partners to identify and notify those who may have been exposed to measles from this individual.

"Measles is a highly contagious, airborne disease, which has increased significantly in the United States because of the unfortunate decrease in vaccination rates. It is also a preventable disease," said Public Health Commissioner Dr. Robbie Goldstein. "This current situation serves as an important reminder of the critical role vaccination plays in protecting our communities. While Massachusetts has not had a measles case this year, 2025 saw the highest number of nationwide cases in more than a decade — nearly 2,000 in 44 jurisdictions, and sadly, three deaths.

"Fifteen years ago, measles had been considered eliminated in the United States, but that tremendous progress is at risk. Vaccines are one of the most important public health interventions ever — they are safe, effective, and lifesaving."

Measles is very contagious. However, the risk to most people in Massachusetts is low because the vaccination rate in the state is high. People who are not immune and visited any of the locations on the following dates and times may be at risk for developing measles.

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