Booster Seats Effectiveness is Established: International Experts Gather To Close the Gap Between Science and Public Policy

  Gaps in Child Passenger Safety Laws are Being Debated by Federal and State
        Legislative Bodies Across the Country; Requiring Booster Seats
            For 4- to 8-Year-Olds is at the Heart of Many Debates

    WASHINGTON, April 18 WHAT:              Booster Seats for Children
     WHEN:              Sessions: Monday, April 23, 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
                        Sessions: Tuesday, April 24, 8:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
                        Keynote Address: April 23, 11:50 a.m. (Senator
                        Fitzgerald, (R-IL)
                        Press Briefing: April 24, 1:30 p.m.
     WHERE:             Wyndham City Center Hotel
                        1143 New Hampshire Avenue
                        Washington, D.C.
     CONTACT:           Suzanne Hill, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
                        215-590-1417; as of 4/22 cell: 215-419-1094

    On April 23 and 24 international specialists on booster seats will convene
in Washington, D.C. to review the current state of the art in child booster
seat design, materials and child riding behavior, as well as to explore future
directions to increase proper booster seat use among older children.  The
conference is organized by the Association for the Advancement of Automotive
Medicine.
    "The goal of the conference is to conclude with scientifically sound,
realistic public policy priorities that can be implemented by organizations
and agencies within the child passenger safety community and by government
policy makers to increase proper booster seat use among children ages 4 to
8 years," states Jeff Runge, an emergency physician and conference chairman.
    While the conference addresses the international implications related to
booster seats for older children, the issue is particularly acute in the
United States.
    The honorable Peter G. Fitzgerald (R-IL) will deliver the keynote address
on Monday, April 23.  Senator Fitzgerald sponsored the Child Passenger
Protection Act, which was signed into law by President Clinton as part of the
TREAD Act in November, 2000.  The measure calls on the federal government to
modernize outdated testing methods for child safety seats, expand efforts to
protect children in various types of collisions and close the gap in occupant
restraint laws that leaves older children not optimally restrained.
    Several dozen presentations by specialists from the USA, Canada, UK and
Sweden will address a range of issues such as current use and misuse of
booster seats; effectiveness of booster seats in real world crashes;
behavioral factors affecting booster seat use; technical standards and
regulations governing booster seats design; experimental research on injury
tolerances of young children; and how booster seats are tested in the
laboratory.  Recommendations will be made to further increase the benefits of
booster seat use through design improvements and education.
    Booster Seats for Children: Closing the Gap Between Science and Public
Policy conference is organized by the Association for the Advancement of
Automotive Medicine.  Funding assistance has been provided by State Farm
Insurance Companies, Volkswagen of America, and The Children's Hospital of
Philadelphia.
    The Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM) is an
international multidisciplinary organization of professionals committed to
reducing motor vehicle trauma and improving highway safety.  AAAM was founded
in 1957 as a non-profit organization.  It provides a communication forum for
solutions to the traffic injury problem.  AAAM's membership incorporates
clinical, research and policy making backgrounds to form a unique blend of
leaders in traffic injury control.