No young children in South Carolina should be put in a car without wearing the proper child-restraint system to protect them in case of an accident. A proposal moving through the state Legislature will help to make sure that's a reality.

The Senate's Transportation Committee has approved a change in law that would increase the fine for not properly restraining a child to $150 from $25. It also says that if an unrestrained child is injured in an accident, the violator could be fined $500 or sent to jail for 30 days.

Small children are not able to make the decision to buckle up on their own, and their parents are responsible for teaching them to do it. Further, automobile accidents can be even more harmful to the delicate bodies of children than they are to adults. The importance of child-safety seats and restraints cannot be ignored. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the use of a child-safety seat reduces the risk of fatal injury by 71 percent for a child less than a year old and by 54 percent for children 1 to 4 years old.

This proposal just makes sense. It's so simple to make sure children are properly restrained, yet so frustrating to see a vehicle going down the highway with a child who is not belted in to a safety seat or booster seat.

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This is a common-sense proposal that deserves to be passed by the Legislature.