Bangor ‘booster’ plan touts car safety Groups giving away seats for children

Young children who don’t sit on platforms known as “booster seats” while traveling in motor vehicles face greater risk of injury. That’s why Ford Motor Co., the United Way of Eastern Maine and Penquis CAP are teaming up to give the seats away, representatives of the organizations said Tuesday.

Speaking at a demonstration at Darling’s Ford Volkswagen and Audi, a trauma coordinator for Eastern Maine Medical Center and group representatives said without the boosters, seat belts positioned incorrectly across the neck or midriff or behind an arm pose a significant risk of injury. About two children in Maine die every year because they weren’t using the booster seats, according to the Maine Bureau of Health.

“The decisions that parents make for children today as they are driving around Maine’s highways may in fact be life-or-death decisions,” said Pret Bjorn, trauma coordinator for Eastern Maine Medical Center.

A bill in the Legislature would mandate that parents use the devices for children who are 4 to 8 years old and weigh less than 80 pounds. The bill recently passed easily in the House of Representatives and soon will be taken up by the Senate.

The simple platforms, which cost about $35, are installed incorrectly by parents much less frequently than car seats for younger children, said Gary Dorman, a child passenger safety technician and project manager of the Foster Grandparents program at Penquis CAP. Still, parents can ensure they have put the seats in correctly and adjusted seat belts properly by going to a “fitting” with a safety expert.

Dorman said anyone interested in learning about getting loaner seats, free seats or attending fittings should call him at (207) 973-3684 or the United Way at (800) 204-2803.

Those who qualify for the free seats donated by Ford Motor Co. must go to a brief demonstration on correct installation, he said.

Ron Russell, manager for Darling’s, said Ford would give away 1 million of the seats across the country through the United Way. In addition, the dealer makes available child-seat locking kits as well as seat belt extenders for larger adult passengers or those who can’t reach behind them to buckle up, he said.

As experts described proper belt placement for children Tuesday, 5-year-old Fiona Lefresne of Bangor served as the safety model for the assembled media. Lefresne was first buckled into the back of a new minivan in the Darling’s showroom without sitting on the booster. The lap belt went across her midriff and the shoulder belt across her neck.

Such a situation puts her at risk of internal organ damage and spinal injury at the neck, said Bjorn.

The whole idea of the booster seat is to raise a small body in relation to a seat belt designed for adult use. Lap belts ride across the hips and the shoulder belt goes across the middle of the body and shoulder, he explained.

When Fiona sat on the booster seat, which is not much more than a platform with some low wings on either side, she could see from the windows better and had better belt placement.

Five of Maine’s 10 United Way chapters held press conferences Tuesday, said Nancy Roberts, vice president of community impact for the United Way of Eastern Maine. She said the program is designed to make children safer whenever their parents climb behind the wheel.