New vehicle restraint laws affecting every family with young children are set to be introduced by the State Government.
The laws, based on National Transport Commission standards first proposed in 2007, were approved by State Cabinet yesterday, the Mercury understands.
It is expected Premier Nathan Rees and roads minister David Campbell will make the decision public as early as today.
David Campbell pressed to act on seatbelt laws Under the national guidelines, a rear-facing capsule is required for babies aged up to at least six months, a child restraint seat with an inbuilt harness for those between six months and up to at least four years of age, and a booster seat for children aged between four and seven.
At present, only children up to 12 months old must be restrained in an approved seat in NSW.
It is understood there will be a period of grace until fines for non-compliance are imposed and a minimum age may be set for children sitting in the front seat.
Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria have already said they will apply the national standards.
In March 2008 then Roads Minister Eric Roozendaal indicated he would toughen laws in NSW, but neither he nor subsequent minister Michael Daley succeeded in doing so.
In Australia, 500 children up to the age of 10 are killed or seriously injured every year in car accidents, with 2300 sustaining minor injuries.
Some medical studies have suggested the premature graduation of children into adult seat belts increases the risk of injury or death in an accident.
Mt St Thomas parents Noel and Danielle Broadhead, whose three-year-old daughter Isabelle died due to seatbelt injuries sustained in a low-speed car accident in 2006 at Mt Kembla, have been prominent campaigners for the law changes.
They were unhappy with the State Government's progress.
But when contacted by the Mercury yesterday, Mr Broadhead praised the swift action of Mr Campbell, Minister for the Illawarra and Minister for Transport, who took added responsibility for roads in September.
Mr Broadhead believes Isabelle would have survived the accident had she been in a seat with an inbuilt harness.
"In all likelihood she would not have suffered such serious injury because the force would have been spread across the seat," he said.
"She probably would have walked away like her sister."
Mr Broadhead said he and his wife, Danielle, had pushed for new state legislation to honour their daughter's memory.
Seats can be bought for about $90, which Mr Broadhead said was a small price for saving a life.
"We don't want to be the parents who find out someone else has died for the same reason as Isabelle," Mr Broadhead said.
"We know how it feels and we wouldn't want anybody else to feel it."
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