Family Tragedy Promotes Need for 5-point Harness Booster Seats

Kyle David Miller's parents described him as a "kind and compassionate soul." He was a three year old who loved animals, Sponge Bob, and giving hugs and kisses. His life ended tragically on May 29, 2005, when another car hit their vehicle and he was ejected from his standard booster seat. The seat was a "standard" booster seat that had been secured by a lap belt. His family thought this was all that was available, but learned after the accident that a different seat could have saved his life. They have started their own crusade to educate others about seatbelt failure and car seat safety.

Their mission began as a simple tribute video for Kyle that they posted on YouTube.com. The four minute video shares the story of their son's life and also shares information about how a booster seat failed to save him. News of the video quickly spread through e-mail messages and on Internet chat rooms and message boards. Three months later, the site has received over two million hits.

"We just sent it out to friends and family, not really thinking it would be a public service announcement," Kyle's mother Christine Miller said in a recent television interview with KPRC Local 2 news in Houston, TX. "I put it on and within 24 hours, it had over 100,000 people look at it. I would check a few hours later and 100,000 more people looked at it. You can't even conceive that there are that many people out there."

Most five-point harness car seat systems can only be used with children through 40 pounds. At that point, the seat becomes a booster seat without the five point harness or the child must transition to a booster seat. Currently, there are only two five-point harness car seats available for children weighing more than 40 pounds and prior to the Miller's efforts to educate the public, the seats were only available online.