I guess it depended on the model maybe or year made? But what about the chest clip? A child car seat has one primary role, to protect the child in the event of a collision whilst travelling in the car. Do you have a video of the technique of installing you described? The genesis of this is because the mandatory regulation in the US requires car seats pass the crash test only using the lap belt. The car seat did have a square, orange compliance sticker on the side a label typically seen on car seats in Europe. If youre shopping for a car seat, you can check with the American Academy of Pediatrics, which maintains this list of car seat products approved for use in the United States along with basic information about height and weight requirements and retail price. Help us ensure that when your seat reaches the end of its life, it doesn't end up in the landfill. We Design for Peace of Mind - Right Here in Canada. Is that an authorized reseller of your product? If you are in the US, do not remove your chest clip. I didn't know to look for it, Gilbert Ruiz said. Child car seats fitted with our Anti-Escape System ensures the seat performs as intended in the event of a collision. They understand the questions that are being asked, Haverstick said. The more I look at it, the more I'm thinking to myself, this is not right at all, Clemons said. The reviews posted on the website were positive. Contact one of our child passenger safety experts and we'll get back to you as soon as possible. She said the second category of concern: counterfeit car seats that look like safety-tested name brands. We are travelling from the U.K. to the US in July, and werent sure if our UK ISOFIX car seats would work in US hire cars. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The FP Safe Embrace convertible DID have one, but had weird rules about using it. Other differences between European and American car seats include the presence of a chest clip. Thanks for the info. I wish you had been in our car rental place in Amsterdam as I almost cried over the confusion of installing a Canadian car seat in a Dutch car! If you do position the chest clip before adjusting the harness, you may also notice that the straps appear to be tight, but its likely not the case! This company also understands crash dynamics and has an attention to safety not typically found in other aftermarket products. Many examples of chest clips breaking and posing a laceration and choking hazard (, Children can easily move the clip upwards / downwards, An extra buckle, in addition to the complex two part crotch buckle, has resulted in carers fastening just the chest clip with. Nope. Thanks for this article. It is a pre-crash tensioner meant to help position the harness straps properly on a childs shoulders. The lap belt is positioned quite low on the car seat, and it doesnt sufficiently reduce the amount of forward incursion that the child experiences, so the child still moves too far forward in the accident. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. Registration cards are required for all car seats that meet U.S, standards, Herring said. Also, look for a registration card. A lot of these websites are, you know, up one day and gone the next day, said Sarah Haverstick a safety advocate for Goodbaby International which makes the Evenflo brand. I am wondering, do you know if our Britax Clicktight car seats will work in European cars with non locking seatbelts? Otherwise, you can graba consultation with our CPSTs. Look for instruction manuals. We cannot get it to lock! Dangerous localised loads generated in the event of a collision (E.g. So in order to keep the car seat far back enough, the top tether is required in US car seats. LATCH & Car Seats: Everything You Need to Know to Make Things Click, The Right Seat Matters | How to Choose the Best Seat for You and Your Child. If your child is requiring one of these guards, your child may also need to stay in a 5-point-harness longer than average; the Britax Frontier Click Tight has the highest harness capacity of any conventional car seat in the United States andfeatures a harness type and crotch buckle that will work with the guards. I say, Oh, Im a car seat technician.. Share the gift of safety with a Clek Gift Card, which may be used toward the purchase of Clek products available on our website. I really found this very helpful. I was browsing around on Albee Baby and found this travel system. We know how terrifying every second of the trip with children like this can be wondering if your child has gotten unbuckled and whether you can find a safe place to pull over quickly enough before this child starts trying to open the doors, climbs into the front seat, starts unbuckling others in the car, or god forbid someone hits you. What brand is it? However, it may not be exactly what you think it is. European car seats which offer ISOfix use a rigid style of ISOfix where rigid bars protrude from the back of the car seat at a fixed distance. For instance, European car seats dont feature a chest clip at all. Imported is code for 'made in china', probably. It means it's manufactured elsewhere, it doesn't always mean it's made for a different market and then brought here. Doona told NBC 5 Responds it spent years investing in the development of its product to ensure its safety and that counterfeits are a big issue. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. They landed on a website that sold multiple baby products and zeroed in on a car seat and stroller system with rose gold trim and tan leather accents. Copyright 2022 Clek Inc. All rights reserved. I look over at the counter where another customer is asking for help installing their rented car seat: the seat belt isnt locking at all; we cant secure the seat she says, in an American accent. ISOfix and LATCH are pretty much the same thing, albeit with a few subtle differences. I feel for families this happens to because you're trying to do the right thing, you're doing research, there's so much involved in having a baby and it's just overwhelming the amount of gear, Haverstick said. I said Oh, are you trying to use an American car seat? to which she said No, I rented the car seat from Budget but it wasnt installed. Stores then purchase the car seats that meet federal standards from the manufacturer. If you are unsure about information provided to you, please visit a local certified technician. A 6 year old with autism or ADHD who is determined to get out of their car seat will laugh in the face of tiny buttons and have them undone in a flash. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. These are the rules you must follow to restrain your children safely. What would happen to the child? Clemons asked. So it may have depended on the year of the seat. All opinions at Car-Seat.Org are those of the individual author for informational purposes only, and do not necessarily reflect any policy or position of Carseat Media LLC. When the patient care technician at a childrens hospital saw the car seat, she had questions. The USA recognises that the gap under the harness enables toddlers to lever the harness off their shoulders by pushing their arms under the harness. Believe or not, they do exist! We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. You can contact the Consumer Product Safety Commission online to report an unsafe product at or call 1-800-638-2772. Seats sure look naked without them. that's the version that is sold here. European car seats, by regulation, require that the child can be removed from the car seat in a single motion; so having both a crotch buckle and chest clip would breach the European regulation. Child car seats, that are homologated to UN ECE R44 regulations, are prevented from using the chest clip. 4. chest clips are pre-crash positioners, they usually break in a crash. Child car seat manufacturers, although not required by law in the USA, incorporate the chest clip as a pre-crash positioner. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. The image below shows the Q3 crash dummy. Both were 5 points and neither had chest clips. Suddenly Im elbowed out of my day dream, I think theres a car seat emergency whispers my husband. European forward-facing car seats are not required to have a top-tether strap although some of the heavier ones will. Though the straps are doing the brunt of the work, that doesnt mean the chest clip is insignificant. you could probably call them and verify that the product is indeed the US-certified model. 2. It might look like the chest clip is strong enough to hold your baby in a collision, but thats simply not the case. If the seat that you want is not in your budget, it is much safer for your baby to pick a seat that is in your budget that is safe and approved for use in the U.S. rather than going for the reach item that might look prettier but could cause serious harm to your child in a crash, she said. Disconcerting results from recent research on impact shields further supports concerns on viscous injuries arising from the chest clip. There are specific things safety advocates want parents to know about a growing problem. The parents, Gilbert and Karla Ruiz of Midland said they found the car seat after they searched online. A Texas family said they shopped online for a car seat and a stroller travel system they liked. We have them go through this training as well. If used, according to its instructions, it should keep your baby safe, whatever country you're in, Baer said. Even experienced parents can get it wrong. Because the car seat had an in-built lock-off mechanism when it was forward-facing. Shopping in the U.S.? Not a pretty look after a overnight flight holding an 8 week old!!! Ours is still in the basement. These injuries are not measured by the homologation crash mannequins. Each of our harnessed car seats feature a handy icon on the chest clip to remind you of correct position armpit level: Keep in mind that for smaller newborns, its recommended to line up the top edge of the chest clip with babys armpits. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. You are using an out of date browser. It didnt have that same mechanism for the rear-facing configuration, so they thought they would have to put it forward-facing, and they really didnt want to - they were aiming for extended rear-facing, which is fantastic. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website.