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Lawmaker Wants To Allow Two Children Per Seatbelt

Illinois Department of Transportation

Illinois law is pretty straightforward: one child, per seat, each with his or her own seat belt. Rep. Mary Flowers, a Democrat from Chicago, wants to change the law for drivers who don't have enough room in their car for each kid. She proposes allowing two children, if they're between the ages of 8 and 15, to buckle into a single seat belt.

"It's a financial burden on a poor family. If they're trying to comply with the law, they should not be penalized because they don't have a bigger vehicle," Flowers said.

The proposal specifies a driver should only buckle two kids into one seat out of necessity, but car safety expert Byron Bloch says that's dangerous.

"I think it would needlessly encourage that and give the terribly false illusion that since it became law in Illinois, it must be safe," Bloch said.

Bloch says the safest seat belt is one with a lap and shoulder restraint, and a shoulder belt would not fit across two children. 

Lisa Ryan is a graduate student in the public affairs reporting program at the University of Illinois at Springfield. She previously worked at Indiana Public Radio and the college radio station founded by David Letterman. She is a 2014 broadcast journalism and political science graduate of Ball State University.
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