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Travelers younger than 2 still fly for freeFAA decides against mandating child safety seats
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSWASHINGTON (CNN) -- Airlines can still allow children younger than 2 to fly for free as "lap children," the Federal Aviation Administration announced Thursday. In announcing its decision, the agency said mandating safety seats might increase costs for parents, prompting more of them to drive, a statistically more dangerous way to travel than flying. "We encourage the use of child safety seats in airplanes," FAA Administrator Marion Blakey said in a written statement. "However, if requiring extra airline tickets forces some families to drive, then we're inadvertently putting too many families at risk." The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration supported the FAA decision, saying that studies show a safety seat mandate could result in another 13 to 42 fatalities over 10 years in highway accidents. Last year 43,000 people died on America's highways, compared with 13 on commercial flights. Nonetheless, some safety advocates immediately protested the decision. Among them, the independent National Transportation Safety Board, which Blakey once chaired. "During takeoff, landing, and turbulence, adults are required to be buckled up, baggage and coffee pots are stowed, computers are turned off and put away, yet infants and toddlers need not be restrained," said NTSB Acting Chairman Mark Rosenker in a written statement. "This is an unnecessary risk to our children." The NTSB recommended in 1995 that infants and small children be restrained on airliners in a manner appropriate to their size, and the recommendation has been on the board's "Most Wanted" list of safety improvements since 1999. Current policies allow parents to hold their young children firmly on flights as "lap children," saving the cost of airfare. To encourage families to use child-restraint systems, the FAA is expanding the types of restraints airlines can provide for children. 
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