Booster-seat safety upgraded

Some journeys are measured in distance, time and tears. For Autumn Skeen of Walla Walla, the journey to the White House was long in every respect.

As Skeen looked on, President Bush yesterday signed a law bearing the name of her 4-year-old son, Anton, who died in a 1996 rollover accident.

At 45 pounds, Anton slipped out of a standard shoulder belt and was thrown from the vehicle, a 1988 Dodge Raider sport-utility vehicle. In the wreckage, the Washington State Patrol troopers discovered the belt was still locked. Skeen later became a safety activist with a remarkable record of success.

The bill Bush signed, Anton's Law, directs the federal secretary of transportation to establish performance requirements for booster seats designed for children weighing more than 50 pounds.

Federal officials must also develop a crash-test dummy modeled on a 10-year-old. Crash-test dummies cost $3 million to $5 million to engineer.

The new law also mandates that automakers build shoulder harnesses into the center rear seat of new passenger cars by 2005, unless federal officials determine the change is too costly or impractical for manufacturers.

The secretary of transportation also will evaluate built-in boosters now available in some vehicle models.

For six years since the accident, Skeen has lobbied state and federal lawmakers to create stricter codes for booster seats. While crash tests have focused on infants and adults, Skeen said older children have been largely ignored, leaving many parents uncertain about car safety.

Standing outside the west wing of the White House yesterday, Skeen said her struggle for improved booster seats and education was now in the hands of government administrators.

"It's a day of great relief that someone else will be looking after these kids," she said. "I'm going to try and step back now. I need my life back."

After Skeen brought car-seat safety to the attention of Washington state lawmakers, the Legislature passed the Anton Skeen Law in 2000.

The state law, which went into effect last July, requires children younger than 1 year to ride in a rear-facing infant seat. Older children must be placed in a booster seat with a lap belt.

The penalty is an $86 fine, but courts will dismiss infractions for drivers who provide proof that they purchased an appropriate seat within seven days of receiving the citation.

About a month after the state law passed, Skeen was asked to testify on Capitol Hill by Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, R-Ill., who was holding hearings on booster-seat safety.

Yesterday, Fitzgerald credited Skeen for the bill's passage. "She was truly devoted," he said. "Moms and dads across America should thank her for her hard work."

Every year, about 500 children ages 4 to 8 die in car accidents. In 1999, 105 children died in car accidents while wearing lap-shoulder belts designed for adults, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

As she clutched a folder of Anton's photographs outside the White House yesterday, Skeen was obviously pleased with her presidential visit.

But it was a pleasure tempered with sadness.

"I would trade this whole law for five minutes with my son," she said.

Alex Fryer: 206-464-8124 or afryer@seattletimes.com.