Cabot, Arkansas- Lawmakers said they hope a stricter child safety belt will prevent another tragedy such as the one involving Ward resident Chris Edwards’ son.

On Feb. 22, 2001, Edwards’ 4-year-old son, Dustin Tyler Edwards, was in a car accident with his ex-wife. Dustin was placed only in a lap belt, as was his 4-year-old stepbrother. Dustin’s mother and his stepbrother died on impact. Dustin was flown to Arkansas Children’s Hospital, where he was treated for severe head injuries.

“My whole world came crashing down,” Chris Edwards said. “The doctors explained that, if he did live, he would not be the same little boy that he once was. On Feb. 24, we decided to let him go. I sat in the room and felt my son’s last heart beat, I felt the coldness of his body and I sat there holding his hand, remembering him as he had been, thankful for having Dustin in my life.

“How we deal with death is as important as how we deal with life. This law is very important to kids who are alive. I never want another parent to go through what I’ve gone through. Are parents willing to take a chance with a precious child’s life? We need to do everything necessary to keep kids alive,” Chris Edwards said.

Edwards spoke at a recent news conference at Arkansas Children’s Hospital to an audience of reporters, lawmakers, law enforcers and concerned residents. The conference was to announce Act 470, which was House Bill 1124, which went into effect Aug. 14.

The law increased the required minimum age and size limits for the use of child passenger safety seats in motor vehicles from 4 years old (or 40 pounds) to 6 years old (or 60 pounds). It will also require all children under 15 to wear a seat belt at all times — even in the back seat of the vehicle, which is a change from previous law.

Arkansas is the first state in the country to enforce such a safety standard. A driver can be pulled over and fined for not complying with the new regulation. The minimum fine is $25 per child; the maximum fine is $100 per child.

State Rep. Jake Files of Fort Smith (R-Fort Smith) sponsored the bill. “It has been shown that traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 14 — a fact that can be linked, at least in part, to the reality that most kids are unbuckled or improperly restrained in vehicles,” Files said. “I hope this law will change that statistic.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an average of seven children 0-14 years-old were killed and 872 were injured every day in motor vehicle crashes in 1999. The agency said that more than 300 lives a year are saved because of proper use of child restraint seats.

The use of size-appropriate restraints, such as booster seats, may reduce the risk of injury by 70 percent to 80 percent, when compared with being unrestrained, according to agency statistics.

“Belt-positioning booster seats are needed because many children do not fit properly in a seat belt. Seat belts are designed for adults — not children,” said Dr. Mary Aitken, co-director for the UAMS Center for Health Promotion. “Booster seats position the child so that the lap belt fits low and snug across the child’s hip bones and the shoulder belt fits across the child’s chest instead of the neck. It can help protect the child from severe spinal cord injuries, abdominal injuries and ejection in a crash.”

New guidelines are as follows:

A rear-facing infant carrier or rear facing convertible seat should be used until the child is at least 12 months old and 20 pounds.

Children older than 1 year and weighing between 20 and 40 pounds should use a forward-facing seat with a harness. Use of this type of restraint should be continued until the child weighs about 40 pounds.

Children who weigh between 40 and 80 pounds should ride in booster seats. Use should continue until the child fits into the adult lap and shoulder seatbelt (at approximately 80 pounds with a height of four feet, 10 inches).

Children older than 6 and weighing more than 60 pounds must ride in a seat belt until age 15. The backseat is the safest place to ride for all children under age 13.

“This is a very difficult thing to understand as to why they were not in child safety seats,” Edwards said. “We are still dealing with a lot of the emotions of hurt, sorrow, anger, and frustration.”

He said later, “My son was tossed around in this vehicle like a rock in a tin can. I cry every time I picture this in my head. The use of a car seat or booster seat would have prevented him from hitting his head against the sides of the vehicle." For more information on the new law or child safety seats, call Arkansas Children’s Hospital at (501) 320-KIDS.