AAA Minnesota/Iowa & Safe Kids Minnesota Support Enhanced Child Restraint Legislation "The Brynn Duncan Law"

BURNSVILLE, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Minnesota's legislature soon will have the opportunity to follow the example of 43 other states and strengthen our state's child restraint law. We hope the legislature will capitalize on this opportunity because traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for children over the age of one in Minnesota. In addition, 624 Minnesota children suffered crash-related injuries requiring medical attention in 2006.

This past summer, seven-year-old Brynn Duncan from Moorhead became the definitive illustration of a child who would have benefited from a stronger child restraint law in Minnesota. On Aug. 18, 2008, Brynn was restrained with only a seat belt, since that's all the law requires, while riding with her grandmother. Because the adult seat belt did not fit properly, the lap portion rode up above her hips and onto her stomach. Brynn had placed the shoulder portion of the adult seat belt behind her back as children of this age and size often do to prevent it from resting on their faces.

When the vehicle she was riding in was involved in a crash, the impact snapped Brynn's body in half. Because the top portion of the seat belt was not in place, her spinal cord was badly injured. Because the lap portion of the seat belt was not on her hips, her internal organs were catastrophically damaged.

The initial damage to Brynn's body was a torn spinal cord, a severed intestine, a bruised heart and a damaged kidney. While in surgery, Brynn's kidney, appendix and gall bladder were removed. In addition, Brynn suffered immense pain, depression, severe fevers and infections. Weeks went by as her survival lay in the balance. For 82 days, Brynn went from one hospital to the next, one surgery to the next, fighting to survive. Eventually, Brynn was sent home with substantial, life-long injuries.

Minnesota's current child restraint law states children ages four and older can be restrained in a seat belt. By following the law, Brynn's grandmother thought she was doing what was safest. Consistent with her assumption, a recent AAA study found that the majority of parents rely on their state's legislation to guide them on how to restrain their child in a vehicle.

However, seat belt use at age four is not the best practice. Research conducted by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia indicates that appropriate child restraints (that is, booster seats) reduce the injury rate in car crashes by 59 percent over adult seat belts used alone.

AAA Minnesota/Iowa and Safe Kids Minnesota are calling for improved child passenger safety legislation to provide children ages four to eight with the proper protection. For most children in this age range, this means making use of a small and portable backless booster seat ranging in price from $13-$20. The function of a booster seat is simply to raise the child up enough so the lap belt rides low on the hips and the shoulder portion crosses the shoulder – where it should.

Brynn's parents do not want other young children to endure what Brynn had to experience. Our Minnesota kids deserve an improved child passenger safety law with the protections offered by 43 other states, not a law that was crafted 26 years ago before booster seats were developed. Had Brynn been in a booster seat with the adult seat belt in its proper place on her body this excruciating ordeal could have been prevented.