Anyone have links to studies showing that kids 8+ are actually safer in a booster?

[erv917]

My DD1 is 7.5, so she and her peers are fast approaching the age where our state's law no longer requires booster. Lately, I'm seeing some parents take away their DC's boosters right after they turn 8. In my area, extended harnessing, extended rear facing, etc are not terribly uncommon, but I'm noticing that boostering much past 8 is.

Today I posted a link on my FB page from "Car Seats for the Littles" explaining about the Five Step Test and why many (most) kids are not ready to ride with a seat belt only on their 8th birthday. (Here's the link if anyone's interested http://csftl.org/boosters-are-for-very-big-kids/). I made a comment to the effect of "Thought this was an interesting read since so many of us have kids approaching age 8." Now, like the good BBBer that I am this was hardly new information for me, but basically I played it off like it was something new I had just learned in hopes of spreading information without calling anyone out!

I got some positive feedback, but one comment to the effect of "This article doesn't present any data. I haven't seen any evidence that there are differences among child restraint systems for older children." Which made me wonder--IS there actually data behind this recommendation, or am I just drinking the BBB kool-aid?

If there is a really scientifically rigorous study I could cite, I'd like to do so. I'm hoping for something pretty solid though--the commenter is an Ivy League educated scientist, and I really don't have it in me to get into a debate on FB a potentially flawed experimental design!!

Thanks!

[TwinFoxes]

Well, I am not sure there are studies showing boosters are better for kids older than eight. But it's also not a question of age really, it's height/where the seatbelt hits. Boosters are belt positioners.

ETA: From the CDC
Booster seat use reduces the risk for serious injury by 45% for children aged 4–8 years when compared with seat belt use alone. (Arbogast KB, Jermakian JS, Kallan MJ, Durbin DR. Effectiveness of belt positioning booster seats: an updated assessment. Pediatrics 2009;124;1281–6.)

http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafet...factsheet.html

[Joolsplus2]

How about this? http://injury.research.chop.edu/site...l_injury_0.pdf you sure don't want them anything like under age 8 without one, 8 is when they begin to be reasonably safe, but honestly, you want them at least as big as the 5th percentile female dummy, that's the one they put in the back a lot to make sure the curtain airbags protect the head and the seatbelt holds them in best. http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/ratings-info/side-test

[legaleagle]

I doubt there's much data since so few kids 8+ are in boosters, and even 8 is pretty recent I think. Maybe European studies? They do to 12 there routinely I think.