Laws in several states, such as New York, state that children from the ages of 4 through 7 must use a booster seat when riding in a car. This raises them enough that the safety belt lies across their legs rather than over their stomach. Only Pennsylvania requires kids to be elevated off the seat.
Booster seats are clunky and inconvenient to haul around or switch between cars.
Enter the Ride-Safer travel vest, which fits like any other article of clothing, AutoWeek reports, and could cut the booster seat out of the lives of parents of small children. It comes in two sizes and colors — choosing one for a child would be determined by age or weight, and adjustments can be made. Once fitted, the seatbelt's straps are secured to the vest's front before buckling in the seatbelt. The vest keeps the upper strap over the child's chest rather than the neck or face.
The product seems to fulfill its purpose, but parents should probably consider whether or not their children will tolerate the vest, because it does add a level of complication to riding in the car. At $125, it seems a bit pricey compared to a regular booster seat, which runs about $20.
For families with multiple cars or not a whole lot of room in the vehicle, this could be a worthwhile investment, at least in terms of time saved.
Concerning the actual usage and effectiveness of booster seats, a study published in November 2012 shows that states with booster-seat laws significantly reduce the rate of death or critical injury — 20 percent in children four to six years old, and 35 percent for kids six and seven years old.
