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 This past week, a legislative committee made a tragic mistake. They passed a bill sponsored by Republican Representative Chris Herrod that would allow an adult not to buckle a child ages 5 to 8 into a car seat if the trip was no more than four miles away from home to church or school, the car did not travel more than 45 mph, and the other child seats in the car were already full.
It is amazing that anyone would vote for, much less sponsor, such a bill. This is nothing but legal cover for adults to make some very bad decisions. We all see a few people in our neighborhoods driving around with their children bouncing around in the back seat or an infant in their arms. This legislation would encourage more of that behavior. What police officer is going to stop an adult driving a car with children not in child safety seats? How would the police officer know whether the occupants in the car are four miles from their home or whether they are going to church or school? There will be no enforcement. And there will be a moral encouragement for people to make the wrong decision and not restrain their child properly!
Chris Herrod doesn't seem to understand all of this. Instead, he is listening to those people who want the freedom to be able to treat their children as they wish. They don't want government telling them they should buckle up their children. How dare the government do that! Nothing will happen, they say. There won't be an accident. It is just a short trip. What's the harm?
In fact, most car accidents happen close to home. People tend to relax their vigilance when they are close to home. They begin to think it is just a short trip and it won't matter. But, that is often exactly what the law is for. If there was no law against running stop signs, many people wouldn't stop. Some would consider their own convenience as more important than the interests and safety of all. That's the reason for the child seat law in the first place -- to make sure we protect others, particularly children, even when we may feel it is an inconvenience to buy another car seat, put it in the car, and buckle our child in it.
The vast majority of parents know that not buckling a child in a car seat is an invitation to disaster. An accident may not happen the first time or the second time. An accident may never happen. But why take the risk? Why put any child in danger?
Again, most parents know that, but there are a few who are thoughtless and repeatedly endanger their children by not obeying the law. This law makes them feel better that government is not intruding in their life. Of course, their main reason is their own laziness and thoughtlessness when it comes to their children's safety, as well as that of other children who are in their car, and in their care. What happens when an accident occurs and that child is injured because of a thoughtless adult? Since children are the most vulnerable in an accident when an adult seat belt presses against their small bodies, they become seriously injured and sometimes they die. A physician at Primary Children's Hospital testified at the committee hearing that he was sick and tired of treating injured children who were not properly restrained in a child seat.
Here is another example of the unrepresentativeness of our Utah County legislators. They listen closely to the Eagle Forum and libertarians who don't want the government to have much of a role in their lives. They sponsor legislation for these people. They push it through the legislature. Why do they do that? Because they fundamentally agree with these people. And they fundamentally disagree with the vast majority of Utah County parents who understand the need for child safety laws and many other measures designed to increase the well being of our community.
Many people complain about the extremism we see among our Republican state legislators. Utah County Democrats are doing something about it. We're busily recruiting good, moderate, reasonable people to run against these right wing extremists. We're raising money to help those candidates win. We're getting the message out that people with views like Herrod's don't belong as our representatives. They represent a fringe, not the majority of Utah County voters.
Now they're taking their extremism to new lows -- weakening laws that protect children. Have you had enough? Help us as we work to remove them from office.
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