Group calls for upgrade of Iowa’s child restraint laws

The leader of the National SAFE KIDS Campaign says Iowa’s vehicle restraint law needs to be updated. Heather Paul, executive director of the National SAFE KIDS Campaign, says Iowa law does not mandate any car seat for a child over the age of two. She says most adults know children can’t be safely buckled into an adult seat belt. Paul says Iowa law does not require kids over the age of five who’re riding in a back seat to be buckled in. Paul says Iowa “apparently doesn’t have the same laws of physics that other states have.” In addition, the SAFE KIDS coalition is pushing for a new law which would require helmets for kids who’re riding a bicycle.Nineteen states have youth bicycle helmets laws. Paul says such laws don’t have to require tough penalties. She says the goal is to give parents another reason to encourage their kids to put the helmet on and keep it on when they’re riding their bike. Paul was in Des Moines yesterday for the second annual Iowa Child and Youth Injury Conference at Blank Children’s Hospital.