Michigan Votes Forum

Introduced in the House on March 28, 2007, to require child safety booster seats for children between four- and eight-years old who are under 4-feet 9-inches tall

The vote was 101 in favor, 7 opposed and 2 not voting

(House Roll Call 232 at House Journal 66)

Click here to view bill details.

This is stupid and the people of Michigan better get wise and start voting these idiots out of office with their anti-freedom,anti-american ideals. If my 8 year old doesn't want to be in a car seat because it makes him feel like a baby than he shouldn't have to be.The kids look foward to being four and not having to be in a car seat.I mean what trying to encourage obesity here hurry up and get fat so you don't have to ride in a car seat anymore.The government needs to just leave welll enough alone and quit trying run everyones life.

I AGREE WITH YOU! VOTE THESE NUTS OUT OF OFFICE! THEY ARE CONSTANTLY TRYING TO TAKE AWAY OUR RIGHTS!

In an era of historic economic crisis, our elected officials have, brilliantly, devised a viable substitute to an increase of taxation to sustain the state. This piece of legislation should be considered the beginning of a new dawn in the generation of revenue without taxation. Allow me to explain: The 2 cent service taxation may have been unmitigated for a bait and switch for fines. Since families are subjected to intrusive governmental regulation as an institutional norm, it only makes sense to perpetuate the only secured source of federal funding: Social Security Title IV-E. When the ticket is issued for not adhering to the safety of a child, this will be cross listed as child endagerment, or more readily recognized as "child neglect". At this point the federal funds begin pouring in for the removal and placement of the child to the safe and protective custody of the state. An array of therapeutic counseling and conditioning would be institued, all the while fueling job security for the bevy of unlicensed and untrained state contracted social workers. The unregulated insurance industry would perpetuate the annual incremental trend of increased insurance rates, as a result of the fines. I am so proud of our elected, sophisticated officials to focus on the statistically insignificant recorded incidents of child injuries within the established variable for this legislation. I am so happy to see my federal tax dollars at work to revitalize the economy. I can only ask for all citizens to give a standing ovation to the concert of concern for the "best interests" of our children. The straw man has yet to sing! Encore! Let's continue with fining parents for being impoverished. Oops, Michigan already did. Beverly Tran

A law was proposed to allow a person to buy their way out of wearing a helmet for $100 a year. Why not let them buy their way out of having to use the child safety seats for say $250 a year. I am so proud of our legislature for working so hard for us, their humble constituents!

People, be parents. It's child safety, not an infringement on your rights. Get a grip.

can do stupid stuff is because the public indoctrination centers have created a society of functionally illiterate serfs that will sit still for anything as long as they get their government peanut butter. We Are Doomed

Michigan is one of a few states that does not mandate a child be in a safety seat after the age of 4. A child is not meant to be in an adult seat belt. There have been many children killed due to being in an adult seat belt. What they are doing is for the safety of YOUR child in YOUR car. The seat belt cuts across their neck, you get in a serious wreck and that child is likely to be decapitated. Do your research on why it is important for a child to be in at least a booster seat after the age of 4. It's not a baby seat, but a seat that boosts them up so that the adult seat belt doesn't KILL THEM. Oh yeah you'll be the ones complaining about why you didn't follow the law when your child gets killed in a crash.

If parents could decide on their own to keep their kids safe than the government wouldn't have to do it for us. If you want the government to stop interfering in your life than start being a parent and realizing that kids are not nearly big enough or strong enough to withstand the force of a crash on their little 40 lb bodies. Riding in a car is the most dangerous thing your child does and they do it every single day. I praise our government for caring enough to want to keep my kids safe. Now they just need to enforce the laws about using the seat properly installed, one that isn't expired and being used according to the manufactures instructions and we'll be all set! :-)

and jail you for NOT having the car seat up to date, and you have to pay thousands in DRIVER RESPONSIBILITY FEES i'm willing to bet you won't be feeling so benign about government intrusion.

the 4'9" requirement for using a booster seat. that means that a goodly percentage of ADULTS need a booster seat too. perhaps a simple re-design of seatbelts to, let's say, a four point harness, instead of a three point death trap, might just improve those young death statistics. while we are at it, let's improve the driver attention issue, let's get cell phones, stereos, and other distracting gadgets out of the driver's hands. distracted drivers kill more people yearly.

hell, run for attorney general. you would make a good replacement for mike cox. he believes if you can't pay child support because you can't find a job. you should lose your licence. that way you can't look for another job. sooooo, you go to jail. HEY, now you are a burden to the taxpayers of the state of michiganistan. not only that you are now in the "SYSTEM". if it were back in the middle ages you would be brought out to the city square and "STONED". isn't michiganistan a wonderful "FREEDOM LOSING STATE" ?

Might want to let the tourists know at the state border what our law is. Is it the same as connecting states. Maybe it SHOULD be.

They are a precious commodity. Plus, accidents resulting in injury increase health care costs, I imagine. This is responsible legislation.

At 4 years old most children are not physically ready to be in a regular seat belt. Their legs, torso, and neck are not in proportion to the way the belt system is built, thus easily causing death in an accident. The main reason for this legislation is due to parents who don't care enough for their child's safety and don't keep them buckled in boosters and harnesses that are appropriate to their stature. If the parents can't be responsible, thank goodness you have a government that is looking out for the safety of your children.

stupid that you NEED the nanny state to tell you HOW TO PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN? are you THAT STUPID to do what they say? remember, the seat belts that are killing our children are GOVERNMENT MANDATED. we had a piss-poor design rammed down our throats in the name of safety. remember, the air bags that are killing drivers daily are GOVERNMENT MANDATED. we had ANOTHER piss-poor design rammed down our throats in the name of safety. do race cars, which daily survive multiple car crashes in excess of two hundred miles per hour have airbags? NO. do race cars have 'government mandated seatbelts'? NO. in a race car, the driver is expected to not only survive, but be back racing the next race, not so in cars with seatbelts that the government insists are SAFE. why can PRIVATE INDUSTRY come up with a MUCH SAFER system, and the GOVERNMENT just shoves the first design that looks promising down our throats. every kid that dies by seatbelt related injuries died because a government agency said they would be safe. let's hold the government responsible for those deaths. every driver that dies from an airbag related injury died because a government agency said they would be safe. let's hold the government responsible for their MISTAKES.

Rep. Hoogendyk, having reserved the right to explain his protest against the passage of the bill, made the following statement: "Mr. Speaker and members of the House: I fully agree with the concept that booster seats for small children can possibly help save small children from injury or death in an automobile accident. However, there needs to be a limitation on how far the government reaches into the personal responsibility of individuals in our state. If in fact, booster seats help protect children, then what parent would not use them? Why should government mandate that we take common sense measures? This is not the role of government."

It's not an infringement on your rights, it's an enforcement of your children's rights to be safe if you are too worried about forcing your children to grow up before they are physically ready so they "don't feel like a baby." Being killed due to internal injuries because of lack of safe child restraints- how "grown up!" The fact that the number one cause of death for children LEAPS to vehicle accidents from ages 4-12 kind of wooshes right over some people's heads eh?

Whose rights does this interfere with? The parents? Heaven forbid they make sure their kids are safe in the car by spending $10-50. I'm sure there will be programs giving boosters out for free. The only point that upsets me is that we NEED a law. If your child thinks he's too old for a booster seat, ask yourself a question. Are the old enough to take responsibility for their life ? Because they are the ones who will suffer. Good parents should already have their kids in boosters. Do you? No? Then I guess this law is aimed at you.

I have four children.We do not need more laws. I love my children but this new law would not be practical.We would go to having four children years 2-8 in car seats! The space is taken up also the buckling is annoying. Some of us do not live in fear and don't look to our governing bodies to lead,control and protect us from the what if's. Where is common sense? If you want car seats until they are 80 lbs then buy one but do not think we all share that view and do not force us ! The list of Michigans "do not's" is growing to an unacceptable level. I would like to know if any who are trying to pass this bill have children and how many. I am willing to bet their are not a lot who have more than two.

solid, safe booster seats for $10.00? where is the state going to get the money to buy these seats to give them away for free? how long have YOUR kids been in booster seats? were YOU in a booster seat when you were a kid?

People better remeber these idiots at the polls when we vote this intrusion is to far our government is completely out of control.I have four kids love them to death neither the four year old or five year old neither ride in a booster seat they so looked foward to that day.I think these issues that effect us and our kids so greatly should be put to a public vote.I think the government would be suprised how many of us droans can't stand them interfering in our lives. I remeber when I was a kid sitting in the front visiting with my mom or laying down on the backseat cause I was tried it was enjoyable guess what here I am safe and sound believe it or not I made through childhood without near as much government intrusion as now and all my friends and I are just fine.

Michigan has the worst car seat laws in the nation, it's about time we caught up to the rest of the country. I have a question for those who say they're 'fine' and never rode in car seats: Were you even in a car accident as a child? Because if you weren't then well OF COURSE you're fine! Thank your lucky stars you never were, thousands of children haven't been so lucky.

HAVE.

I think that senior citizens should be forced to wear depend undergarments for their safety and ours. Lets also make a law that our children must wear diapers until 18 years of age. Why we are at it lets ban baseball bats, lawn mowers, forks , fireworks, knives, guns,poodles and pitbulls. Someday we will be completely monitored and regulated down to bowel movements and cutting our grass. Where has our own judgment went? Where has living with the consequences of our actions went? It is my right and responsibility to make these sort of decisions. We are not all idiots. Some of us understand the concept of taking responsibility for our actions. Accidents will happen. We cannot legislate them out of existence with new laws expecting to usher in this accident free America.I was born in Michigan but strongly fear where we are headed. The seat belt laws that are in place are just fine. We do not have the worst laws in the nation. That statement was untrue.Show me where you got that info from. Better yet tell us all.

Legislatures have to regulate children's car seat laws because some parents are not capable of taking care of the necessities when their children are being transported. They are careless in teaching their children manners, respect for others, and responsibility.

how many people over the age of forty five even used seatbelts growing up??? and you are still alive??? oh my!!! imagine that!!!! stop making these idiotic laws!!! if that is all you have to do in lansing, then maybe its time for you to join the military and go to iraq and do something thats worth while!

get on the ball up there!!! stop all this helmet and booster seat crap, and every other silly law that takes away our freedoms!

We DO have the worst car seat laws in the nation. http://www.iihs.org/laws/state_laws/restrain2.html Go to www.boosterseat.gov Before you start complaining about how Michigan is taking away 'your rights' why don't you do some research on how effective booster seats are. There are laws saying you have to feed your kids too, is that taking away your rights and making life inconvenient for you? Love your kids, keep them safe. And pray that you never have to hear that your child died in an accident because they were in a seat belt made for an ADULT.

Just another way to avoid the real issue and make laws for stupid people. We continue to make laws and have to deal with law suits that are completely created by the stupid, lazy and idiotic. Children don't cause accidents, with or without seat belts and boosters. Its the drivers that cause accidents. Poor drivers are the problem that needs to be fixed here. They are the causes of the "What Ifs". Make some better regulations for the people that claim to be in control of the car and maybe you will help the children. Driving is a dangerous activity. drivers need better training and higher level of accountability.

There are so many thing as someone said in our day to day lives that harm or kill us should we outlaw everyone of them this is stupid my kids will never ride in child safety seats again they're all over the age of four and the state can stick it whatever the consequence of that action is so be it another thing are cops gonna start carrying scales cause all my kids will say i am eighty pounds and also my kids will magically age four years to eight no way to prove otherwise on a roadside so you freedom hating nazis can shove it.I would never teach my kids to lie but crap like this makes me so mad I'd like to.

Gives the cop/revenue agent an excuse to pull you over. Maybe you had a beer, maybe you don't have a seat belt on, maybe maybe. Most of the "drunk driving" arrests start with "I didn't think you had a seat belt on" not "you were driving erratically" but now that we are here......

Well it seems to me we have two types of people here. One group that think for themselves. The other group is one that has everyone else do their thinking.Most of the second group are to dumb, ignorant or afraid. They are among the masses attached to the big nipple of the state or federal government. Program after program and law after law are making us into a fattened embarrassing group of pathetic whiners.After researching more about seatbelt laws I agree with Hampshire's perspective. Look it up if you really care.

Where are we headed? Are we that stupid that Government has to now interfere to let us know what is best for our children which anybody can know thru plain common sense. or is there some private company lobbying for these laws? I think there should be a law to use one's common sense. - Who loves the children more - the parents or the government? - Who thinks about the betterment for the children - the parents or the government? - Who wants the children to be safe as a priority - the parents or the government? If government is the answer then nobody should have a right to produce children. And if government is so much concerned about the safety of the children then why is there war on Iraq? You want children to be safe in USA so that they can be sacrificed in Iraq for some stupid war started by a person of highly questionable intelligence? Where is the reasoning power of people of USA or are people of USA so lazy to do nothing about this attitude of the government? Statistics have shown that more people have died due to seat belts and airbags. And they are told to be a measure of safety! What safety? The only measure for safety is responsible safe driving. This comes thru plain common sense. So, ultimately there is only one law required - USE YOUR COMMON SENSE. What should be the punishment for not using common sense? Should it be different for different things? - It is common sense not to drink and drive. But people do it. - It is common sense to use booster seat for children who are endagered because of their height in using their seat belts. But people still do it. Shouldn't the punishment be the same for the lack of common sense in both cases? Why is it only $10 fine for not using a seat belt and hundreds of dollars fine for driving drunk? Risk is the same in both cases. So, just one law and one punishment - USE COMMON SENSE OR ELSE???????

I knew there were more of us out there. Too many Americans spend their day or evening watching tv as the world and our freedoms go bye-bye. It all starts with the little things like seat belts and car seats. Look at California they actually have stickers at the gas pumps that tell you gas is harmful. I was so glad to see that sticker before I drank a big glass full. We legalize hard liqueur and bars where you have to drive home from. We push prescription drugs on just about everyone.Especially if you are a senior.To top it off car manufacturers are still selling autos that get under 15 mpg.I suspect the oil industry has their tentacles in that one. I would have to agree we are being enslaved by large companies lobbying for laws to force us to have to use them. It may sound like a conspiracy theory but wake up and look around (if you havn't already) This an age of greed on big levels. The USA is just a big cow to milk as much $$$$$ from as possible. It is not about us.It is about the state and the fed.They have an agenda and it is going forward.We are the first Democracy and a living experiment. I fear a Democracy does itself in in the end because of one ingredient.......MAN Man is fallen and corrupted. Do not lie to yourself you know what is inside you

where is the 'common sense' in using a seatbelt system that will HARM you in the first place? race car drivers use a DIFFERENT system, it allows them to survive crashes at hundreds of miles per hour. wouldn't it be 'common sense' to use THAT system instead of a system that cuts people's heads off in crashes if they are too short? use common sense... OR ELSE.

democracy. rome was. it quit being a democracy when the populace started voting themselves a slice of the treasury. citizens of rome were the most respected people in the world. outsiders were welcome, but outsiders had to PROVE THEMSELVES before becoming a citizen. rome quit being a democracy long before it fell. and that fall can be traced back to wonderful individuals we would today call POLITICIANS. wonderful feats were accomplished. terrible consequences were realized. and we have (all but a few of us) forgotten all about it.

no one will keep his vote from a politician who 'loves the children' or 'acts for the children'. voters will, if given the opportunity, allow someone else to raise their children, school their children, discipline their children. or even worse, they will allow their children NOT to be properly raised, not to be properly schooled, and not to be properly disciplined. they will be convinced that this is wanted, needed, and even necessary if the parents want to 'fit in', to be 'fashionable', or for lack of a better term.. 'hip'. they will give up what is RIGHT for what is POPULAR. and the state, in it's constant search for money, power, and more votes, will be happy to fill in for these piss poor parents.

Anonymous Citizen said: where is the 'common sense' in using a seatbelt system that will HARM you in the first place? race car drivers use a DIFFERENT system, it allows them to survive crashes at hundreds of miles per hour. wouldn't it be 'common sense' to use THAT system instead of a system that cuts people's heads off in crashes if they are too short? Use your head! Seat belts don't "cut people's heads off". Have you EVER seen proof of that? No, of course not. And can you really see people using 5 point harnesses in their cars every day? Absolutely not. Many people complain that "they're too tight!" or "they wrinkle my dress" or some other whine. And you think they will use a 5 point? YOU are the one that needs some common sense... dolt!

After reading your complaints about child safety seats I can only think of one thing: you shouldn't have children. If you think the simple task of buckling up seat belts is annoying then your children should be put in a home where people love them, look out for their well being and take care of them. Obviously they aren't there now. And you say that child safety seats take up too much room? Just what is it that you think is more important than the well being of your children? How do you transport your children now? Do you stuff the groceries between them? Toilet paper and potatoes between the kids? People like you are the reason we MUST have laws like this: because some children's parents aren't smart enough to protect their own kids!