Maine’s current seat-belt law places 4- to 8-year-olds in greater danger of injury in an accident if they are buckled up, as required, than they would be if they were not belted. But unbuckled, they face greater risk of death. The answer, as proposed this session and already passed in seven other states, is a boost.

Booster seats, unlike car seats for younger children, are inexpensive, don’t require difficult installation and are easy for youngsters themselves to use.

They are essentially a molded pad that lifts children into proper position so that seat belts are properly positioned on their bodies – hips, not stomach; shoulder, not neck. The only challenging issue may be persuading your 6- or 7-year-old to use one.

Maine already requires children up to age 4 to be in a car seat. This bill, LD 1867, would change the car seat rule to under 40 pounds, put children under 8 and between 40 and 80 pounds in the booster seats and require children under 12 years of age or under 100 pounds to ride in the back seat of a vehicle, if possible. It is one more thing for parents and caregivers to keep track of, but given that accidents are the leading cause of death for the 4- to 8-year-olds and car crashes are the leading accidents, it’s worth the hassle.

During the last decade, 24 children in that age range have been killed in car accidents in Maine. Another 250 have been seriously injured – not just in the hospital overnight, but with long-term debilitating injuries. Bureau of Health Director Dora Ann Mills points to national statistics that conclude between 80 percent and 90 percent of those children could have been spared death or serious injury if they had been using booster seats. Insurers support the Maine proposal; car manufacturers are beginning to build them into their new models; Ford Motor Co., the United Way of Eastern Maine and Penquis CAP last week were giving away the seats. To encourage their use.

The booster-seat proposal has met support in both legislative houses and will soon be before Gov. King. Making this common sense proposal a state law will greatly increase the rate of use for the seats and, in turn, let kids know that their friends won’t laugh at them for using a booster – because the friends will be using them too.