On Wednesday, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) called upon Arizona, Florida and South Dakota to join the rest of the country by passing booster seat legislation, as has been recommended by the Board since 1996.The U.S. territories of American Samoa and Puerto Rico also lack booster seat laws for children.

"This coming week the nation observes National Child Passenger Safety Week (September 12-18) with child safety seat checks and other events throughout the United States designed to educate and alert adults to the importance of keeping our littlest passengers safe," said Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman. "Unfortunately, there are three states and two U.S. territories that still do not mandate booster seats for children." Hersman continued, "My colleagues and I hope that 2010 is the year that these legislatures will adopt this best practice and increase our young children's safety in cars across this entire country."

Improve Child Occupant Protection has been on the Safety Board's Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements since 1997. Earlier this year Alaska, Minnesota, Ohio, Texas, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands enacted booster seat legislation, bringing the total to 47 states and three territories (the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands) that mandate booster seats, though only 26 states (including all four states that enacted laws in 2009 and the new booster seat law in New York, which improved its booster seat law) mandate their use through age seven, as the Board recommended.

 Additional information about the NTSB's Most Wanted List can be found on the NTSB Website at http://www.ntsb.gov/Recs/mostwanted/index.htm.