Legislators will be asked this session to tighten children’s car safety laws, which currently say kids 4 and older can be buckled with a regular adult car seat, according to AAA Minnesota/Iowa and Safe Kids Minnesota.

So, those groups are calling for improved child passenger safety legislation to provide children ages 4 to 8 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 to $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.

Supporters say traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for children over the age of 1 in Minnesota. In addition, 624 Minnesota children suffered crash-related injuries requiring medical attention in 2006.

They point to the case of 7-year-old Brynn Duncan, of Moorhead, who last summer was buckled into a car with only a seat belt while 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, 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.

The supporters say seat belt use at age 4 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.