A bill awaiting the governor's signature and vetoed by a prior administration would require children as old as 7 to ride in car safety seats, adding an additional expense to family budgets but potentially saving dozens of children from injury every year.

Car seats or boosters are currently mandatory only for children ages 4 or younger.

The bill is under review by Gov. Linda Lingle, who has until July 11 to veto it, sign it into law or let it become law without her signature. While she has not made a decision, the bill is supported by the state Health and Transportation departments.

If it becomes law, Hawai'i will be the 36th state to require safety seats for older children.

Senate Bill 427 would require safety seats or booster seats for any child age 7 or younger — unless they are at least 4 feet 9 inches tall or more than 40 pounds — in a vehicle that only has lap belts.

Danielle Kessenger has three car seats strapped into the back seat of her minivan for her twin 5-year-olds and toddler daughter.

In the middle row, she has two booster seats for the 6-year-olds she drives to school.

Even though safety seats aren't currently required for her older children, Kessenger insists on using them anyway.

"Seat belts aren't made for children. They don't fit right," she said.

An earlier version of this bill was vetoed in 2002 by then-Gov. Ben Cayetano, who said it would be too costly for large families.

"There's a cost factor that some parents are going to balk at, but truly it's not that expensive," said Kessenger, who said she bought one of the booster seats on sale for $10. High-end ones sell for about $100 more, she said.

"Ten dollars, or $110, is a lot less expensive than having to visit my child in the hospital," she said. "To me it's a very small monetary investment to have a healthy child."

The state offers a $25 tax credit for parents who buy safety seats. Donated booster seats may be available for purchase at Child Safety Seat Inspection stations.

Another argument against the the legislation was that larger families would not be able to fit all the required seats into one car.

Ann Medeiros doesn't buy it.

"You don't have to get the real big car seat-looking booster seat," the mother said. "Some are not much bigger than a phone book.

"If people understood the importance of what a booster seat could do for a small child, they wouldn't complain."

The rationale behind the legislation is that children are too small to fit properly in shoulder belts and either wear them in such a way that exposes their abdomens and necks to injury or they tuck them behind their back and risk being ejected from the car.

About 700 children ages 4 to 7 are involved in major crashes across the state each year. Since unrestrained children are three times more likely to be injured than those in car seats, the law would prevent an estimated 56 injuries a year, according to statistics from the state Department of Health Injury Protection and Control Program.

Maui police Capt. Charles Hirata said seat belts are supposed to rest high on the thighs, across the center of the chest and over the shoulder.

Small children, however, often wear them across the abdomen and cutting into their necks, he said. In the event of an accident, wearing a seat belt like this could lead to internal organ damage, spinal damage and paralysis.

Hirata pointed out that children sometimes combat the discomfort by putting the seat belt behind their backs or under their arms, which could also lead to serious injuries.

"You might want to think about a booster seat being an adapter for adult seat belts," he said.

Opponents of the law have argued that it would make it difficult for kids to catch rides with anyone other than their parents because the seats might not be available.

Hirata said booster seats aren't that big and children can take them with them, if necessary. "It's not really so draconian to carry along your booster with your baseball glove," he said.

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.