Okinawa?

[khiggins]

Does anyone know the regulations for car seats in Okinawa? My friend is getting transferred there with the military next month and is looking to upgrade her son's seat. She doesn't know what kind of car they will have, but wants to see if her seat can be used there. Any ideas where to look?

[snowbird25ca]

Does anyone know the regulations for car seats in Okinawa? My friend is getting transferred there with the military next month and is looking to upgrade her son's seat. She doesn't know what kind of car they will have, but wants to see if her seat can be used there. Any ideas where to look?

Okinawa is Japan, right? I think that the laws are different when you're over there on base and you have the choice of following US laws or the country that you're deployed in. Hopefully someone else will be along with the definitive answer to that question though. :)

I pm'ed 2 members that I know have been deployed overseas. Hopefully they'll be able to help answer your question.

[UlrikeDG]

Military families are covered by the SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement), which allows them to use their US seats. Also, your friend should be allowed to bring one POV (Personally Owned Vehicle) to Japan on the military's dime. Most families bring one car with them and then buy a "hoopty" as a second vehicle when they get to their new duty station.

She should be sure to use her child's car seats on the flight over. Some parents leave the seats in the car when they ship it, but the vehicle will take ~6 weeks to get there, and most of us need seats in the meantime (e.g., a friend picked us up at the airport and drove us to base when we arrived in Germany).

[katiesmommy]

Hi, my husband is in the Navy, and we are stationed in Sasebo, Japan right now.

Like Ulrike said, military members can use American seats if they want. They absolutly do not want to use Japanese seats, from what I've seen, they pretty much suck. Japanese have a law that states children must be in seats until they are 4, but most Japanese people don't follow the laws, and the police aren't strict about it at all. Regardless of the lack of Japanese law, you still have to follow some form of US law on base.

Also, if she gets here and wants to get a new seat, the Japanese government accept both American and European standard seats. So, legally she could get and use a Scandanavian seat. However, she would have to have it sent to her Japanese address as oppossed to her APO address.

Ulrike, they did not let us bring our vehicle here, not sure why. In either case, the roads here are about half the size of US streets (seriously, it's like going down a single laned road with another vehicle coming straight at you most of the time), and American cars don't fit very well. If they can buy a car when they get here, they will be better off. Cars here aren't expensive.

Lastly, I don't even know if I'm allowed to do this, and I hate to plug for another board, but I'm a mod on this forum: http://fadss.forumotion.com/index.htm . It's strictly for family members living in Japan, and there are many ladies on there who are more then willing to help if she has any other questions about moving.

[UlrikeDG]

SB, it's fine to post that other forum. Thanks for sharing it!

Too bad that you can't bring your car with you to Japan. We wopuld have been screwed, because we had zero money for a car when we moved to Germany--not even $200 for a hoopty for Hubby to drive to and from work, let alone something that would work for the family. Yes, there was public transportation, but who wants to take the shuttle to the commissary with two kids? I don't think it's even possible to carry a week's worth of groceries home by myself, let alone while carrying a 1 year old. (Eva was almost 1 and Roman was almost 3 when we arrived in Heidelberg.)

Ermmm. Got a little off topic there. Sorry about that. ;)

[katiesmommy]

We are dealing without a car for the time being because we just haven't been able to afford one right yet. We take taxis when all of us need to go to base, and luckily we live close enough that DH rides his bike to and from work daily. The taxis really aren't too bad, as long as we aren't taking them everyday.

[khiggins]

Thank you all so much! I have forwarded this to her. They aren't allowed to bring either American vehicle, so maybe its a Japan thing. I know when I moved to London with the Navy a lifetime ago, they shipped my Tercel. :D

I know she is relieved to be able to use their existing seats. I did mention to her that I wasn't sure how safe the Japanese seats might be, so I know she'll feel some piece of mind knowing she can use her good ole Britax types...

Thanks again, ladies.