Parents with kids under 8 years of age may need to pull out their child’s old car booster seat or buy a new one, if a new bill on child safety seat rules passes in Texas.

Currently, only children under 5 years old and shorter than 36 inches are required to be in child safety restraints, but most children outgrow the height requirement by the time they are 3 years old.

Texas Senate Bill 61 would raise the requirement to include children under 8 years old or 4 feet 9 inches. (That height requirement matches the NTSB safety recommendations.)

For a listing of safety seat recommendations for children, the American Academy of Pediatrics has a great online guide. Prices for boosters, unlike more expensive car seats, tend to sell for $40 or less.

In car accidents, children ages four to eight years restrained by an adult seat belt are more likely to suffer severe head, spinal cord, and internal organ injuries than those in booster seats. Booster seats reduce the risk of these injuries by 59 percent, according to the experts.

The new law is intended to reduce personal injuries from car accidents like the one that killed 6 year-old Molly Cieminski in McKinney, Texas.

Unfortunately, despite ever-improving safety measures, auto accidents happen every day in our local communities such as McKinney, Plano, and Richardson, Texas. Many cause serious injuries and even death. If you have been involved in an automobile accident in McKinney, Texas, Plano, Texas, or Richardson, Texas, or the surrounding areas, an experienced-local injury attorney can help you.

Our Personal Injury law firm offers free initial legal consultations on accident and injury cases. If you have been injured, you should contact a Texas personal injury lawyer immediately so that you will know what insurance coverage is in place and so that you can take steps to protect your legal rights.

Frisco, Texas – A teenager was killed and two others were hospitalized early Sunday, May 10, 2009 after a collision caused by a driver going the wrong way on the Dallas North Tollway.

Texas Department of Public Safety troopers said Mariza Martinez was driving the wrong way, going south in the tollway’s northbound lanes, in Frisco, TX when her Ford pickup collided with an SUV driven by 16-year-old Kara Taylor of Little Elm. Investigators are trying to determine how long the Dallas woman was driving the wrong way the Tollway.

Kara Taylor was taken to Centennial Medical Center in Frisco, where she was pronounced dead. A female passenger of Taylor’s SUV was also hospitalized with minor injuries.

Martinez was taken to Medical Center of Plano for treatment of injuries. DPS plans to charge Martinez but they are waiting to determine what charges will be filed. Toxicology tests for Martinez are also pending.

Tragic car accidents happen every day in our local communities such as Frisco, Plano, and Allen, Texas.  Some are the result of DWI or DUI. Many cause serious injuries and even death. If you have been involved in an auto accident in Plano, Frisco, or Allen, or the surrounding areas, an experienced-local personal injury attorney can help you.

Our Personal Injury law firm offers free initial legal consultations on personal injury cases. If you have been injured, you should contact a Texas personal injury lawyer immediately so that you will know what insurance coverage is in place to cover your medical expenses and lost wages, and so that you can take steps to protect your legal rights. Call Texas Personal Injury Lawyer Kristopher Barber at (972) 231-5800.