Got Piper's seat inspected today, and a question about a carseat I saw

[wendytthomas]

The tech who inspected Piper's seat was pleased with where the stalk and latchplate were in relation to the seat, so I feel a bit better about it. I'm still a bit concerned that in case of an accident it's going to pop out (it popped out once on me while I was installing her seat and I flew out of my truck, but it's also held RFing while we were rearended). He said that if I could put a lot of pressure on the head of the seat toward the front and it didn't pop then it'd be ok. Doesn't quite make sense to me, there's no way my body can simulate a crash situation, but what do you guys think?

Also, he had never seen a rearfacing tethered seat (Britax Wizard). He said his instructor said there would be new things out there, and so he was tickled to see it. He and the other two firefighters (I don't think one was a tech, just out to learn, that one made a comment about when is time to forward face) were chuckling at my install since when they shook it my car rocked back and forth. LOL

I'm pleased that I'm apparently in the 2% that actually has a seat in correctly. He did suggest that I put the belt UNDER her cover rather than over, it's parental choice but it's a bit better under (makes sense, the cover will compress a little during an accident) so I'll move it at my next chance.

Now here's my question. This carseat was parked next to us today in the parking lot. What is it, how old is it, and is it safe??? The straps were twisted up like braids practically, and I didn't see the strap coming out the bottom to tighten them. The seatbelt installing it seemed to have slack in it too. I did get a picture of the license plate, so if it's something reportable I can call the non emergency line. Sorry about the glare, it was a bright day today and this was taken with my cell phone.

http://www.baz.com/wendy/weirdcarseat.jpg

Thanks!

Wendy

[Jeanum]

It's hard to be sure from the photo, but that seat bears some resemblance to a thinly padded basic version of the Century Accel and those were made until 2002 or 2003, around the time Graco bought out Century and renamed the Accel the Graco Comfort Sport. It also looks a lot like a Cosco Touriva with the cover barely covering the front edges of the shell, the paper clip style chest clip and 3 harness slots. The Touriva was discontinued last year and the newest ones had a two piece chest clip, so it's possible one with a paper clip single piece chest clip is expired but not a sure thing. I had a Touriva with the single piece chest clip with a DOM of April 2001. Both the Touriva and Accel had those horribly twisty straps.

At any rate, whatever that seat is, it looks like it's missing a crotch strap and buckle, and that's a big problem. :(

[Dreaming_of_Speed]

It looks most closely to an accel in the pdf files. It dates them from 1999 to 2003. How the heck do straps get that twisted? One or two small twists i can seat happening but how do you do that without trying? Scary! They must think its uncomfortable for the child. At least it's harness is in the right slots i think that seat requires top slots for FF.

[childrestraintsafety]

slung over the side of the seat?

[rachel3612]

slung over the side of the seat?

That is what it looks like to me, so the buckle is not missing its just in the seat, the sheild locks into that slot. I have no clue how the straps got that twisted though! Evenflo made a seat that looked like that in 1997 or 98. I used one for a 2 year old I babysat for. It was the first car seat I ever read the manual too. LOL It was brand new so it actually had the manual.

Its not safe with the straps like that and depending on when it was made it might be expired.

Rachel

[childrestraintsafety]

I am pretty sure this is actually an 'Century' brand carseat, not Evenflo. Looks almost identical to this one: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Baby-gear/Car-seats/Car-seats/auction-60147317.htm

[Kashi]

I'm by no means an expert, but it looks like our Cosco Regal Ride seat. I've replaced the cover - but the original was that blue with the hashes on it even.

Ours has a manufacture date of 2004-04-14 on it, and it is a 5-point harness.

http://www3.sympatico.ca/lea.adams/RegalRide.jpg

[KaysKidz]

That is definitely a Century. Could be a 1000, that I'm not sure of. My son had one 9 years ago. I think it was a 'T' shield. And if it is, that would actually make twisting the straps even harder! The only thing I can think of is it's likely gone through the wash. Either way, it's not safe.

[wendytthomas]

Is this illegal enough to call the police over? I have her license plate number (if I could find out her info I'd send her a note and a link) so they can pick her up when they see her. Or is she not breaking any state laws? We all know she's tempting the laws of physics with this one....

Wendy

[Splash]

I'm thinking it's not illegal. The kid is in a seat. That's the only law in most areas.
However, that person purposely twisted those straps like that. They are too prefectly corded to be an accident. Especially since that's a t-shield seat, and it's not possible to twist straps in it except when threading them! The parent probably thought it looked cool to braid them, so she did.

Unsafe, you bet your life. Illegal? Probably not.

[wendytthomas]

Unsafe, you bet your life. Illegal? Probably not.

It's not my life that's being bet on. :-( I'll see if I can find something out from the license plate, though I doubt it.

Wendy

[Michi]

I don't think it's an Accel - I had the 2001 model, and it was a 5 point and had a much nicer chest clip. Actually to me it almost looks like an OHS seat with the shield missing ????

[Dsunny1]

Notice in the cover there Are slots for a five point harness. There is no harness coming out of the cover in the hip area as it should though. I have seen many 5 points that people route as 3 points when they are putting the harness back on after a wash. Unless for some strange reason the cover was made with slots for a 5 point harness even though it is only T-shield seat....

[Unregistered]

Yeah, it could even be an OHS Touriva without the shield or an OHS Accel if there ever was an Accel w/OHS. Those straps look like someone curled them with a spiral curl curling iron!

[Dreaming_of_Speed]

If it is a t-shield (i thought it might be but i couldnt tell) its most likely the centruy 2000 STE. It looks like it could be an evenflo scout but the harness slots are too close together. The touriva/regal ride has really spaced slots too so i dont think its one of them.

[rachel3612]

Does NC have a number to call? Here I can call 1800tellchp (chp is california highway patrol) they will use the license plate number to send information to the owner. If they see them they might pull them over but if they can't find them then they get info.

It looks like a centruy seat to me. I am guessing its at least 7 or 8 years old, it looks like onse I used 8 or 9 years ago! Oh and some sheild and 5pt harness seats were made using the same shell so that could be why therey are slots for hip straps, or they just did it wrong when they put it back together. I have seen people do that. I stopped a family at church who had thier 5pt infant seat threaded to be a 3 pt. I couldn't figure out why it looked so wrong. I ended up fixing it, then going out to their car and fixing the base and the older sisters seat. LOL We knew them so I wasn't some stranger. They were thrilled to find out I was a tech, after that lots of people asked me things. Too bad that was the only good thing about church. LOL

Rachel

[Unregistered]

OMG I had this seat its an over the head sheild one with the sheild missing! i had it 6 yeas ago for babysitting i recognize the cover! wow thats really bad!

Clarissa

[thepeach80]

Notice in the cover there Are slots for a five point harness. There is no harness coming out of the cover in the hip area as it should though. I have seen many 5 points that people route as 3 points when they are putting the harness back on after a wash. Unless for some strange reason the cover was made with slots for a 5 point harness even though it is only T-shield seat....

I was thinking I saw slots for leg spots too. Seems like someone wired it up to make it more 'convenient'. I can't imagine those straps being comfrotable! I saw some pretty folded straps on Saturday at my check, but not like that!

[lynsgirl]

Whatever it is, it has to be an OHS or T-shield (guessing OHS), because it has the spot in the shell for the shield to buckle into. A 5pt would have a crotch strap/buckle. This is the sickness you are getting from forums like this, Wendy:D - seeing horrid things in other people's cars and just.not.being.able.to.resist.looking.......Trying hard to not turn my head as I walk by what I just KNOW is a car seat....not working. AGH - shouldn't have looked. Now I feel sick, etc. :p and LOL. It's not funny, really. But the irrestistible urge to look sometimes is. Dh won't even listen to comments anymore if he's with me ("you really can't save the entire world, honey" kind of thing), so I just be quiet. My kids have started noticing things at stop lights, in parking lots, etc, though....VBG.

Amy :-) CPST and Mom to 3 great kids, all in seats and new baby coming in October

[melaniev]

when they made all those century seats alike - t-shield, OHS, 5pt, they used the same covers regardless of which model you bought. the whole thing down to the straps and shield was identical. when i had my 1st kid 10yrs ago there were a LOT fewer choices of carseat so everyone i knew had maybe 1 of maybe 3 models and we could all compare. none of us knew how to put them in so we all shared our disastrous installs too.

[SusanMae]

Most state laws have a clause in them that says something about using the seat properly according the the manufacturers instructions. I'm sure somewhere in every car seat manual about the straps needing to be flat.

That does look like a T sheild to the side though.

I've seen a T sheild in a car that was new enough to have the "air bag warning" on it.

Susan

[skaterbabscpst]

"I've seen a T sheild in a car that was new enough to have the "air bag warning" on it."

Air bags had just started becomming common when my boys were babies, although we didn't have a car with them, and we had a t-shield for my now ten-year-old.

[Simplysomething]

My older sons OHS seat--the cover had slots for a five point harness as well. (So did the version that his grandparents had---which was the same seat with the T-shield.)

I agree with DOS though it looks like there is a T thingy over to the side, which also explains the weird angle of the straps.

And I think you could twist the straps like that without trying, if you unbuckle the T, and it gets flipped or turned upside down, and instead of fixing it you do it again...etc...

My car is a 1997...it has airbags...and we had the OHS for my oldest born in 2000...lol So, well...

[Unregistered]

It's *really* easy to get straps that twisted with a one-piece chest clip and nylon straps, unfortunately, even with a T-shield.

Julie (Joolsplus2, really 3)

[Splash]

No, it wouldn't be. It COULDN'T be. The straps would have to be undone from the splitter plate and purposely roped like that.
If you twisted the T-Shield, the straps would cross. Those aren't crossed. And while yes, one could twist and you could buckle the chest clip with it twisted, it would never actually be a twist in the classic sense. More like a twirl? If you pull on it, everything will come untwisted. Because it's a straight line. Whereas with a five point, if you get it twisted pulling back and forth through the buckles, the buckle tongue becomes a stopping point in the twist, and each side of the buckle becomes essentially two different harnesses, and when the buckle is pulled over the twists again and again, it prevents them from untwisting. But still, if you were to remove the buckle tongue somehow, and then pull the harness tight, all the knots would come out. It's the actual buckle tongues that prevent it from untwisting.
With an OHS or TS seat, it's just one solid piece of straight harness. It doesn't bend anywhere. It comes out of the slots and over the shoulders and attaches to the shield. If you twist the shield (which you obviously can't with an OHS, but can with a TS) the straps will cross, not twist. If you twist the chest clip around before buckling, the straps can twist a bit, but they will untwist afterwards because there is nothing holding them like that (like the buckle tongue in a 5 pt)
Those straps were roped like that on purpose. Whether the person knows how unsafe it is or not (and I don't see how you couldn't) is another story.

Did any of that make ANY sense? Because it makes perfect sense in my head, but not so much on paper (er. or computer screen).

[Unregistered]

think about how easy it would be to flip the T-shield over and into itself a few times, though, and the twist would remain. then add the fact that those straps will get easily twisted behind the strap slots and in the chest clip to some degree (you keep twisting it at the chest clip, and the twist will ride up through the strap slots at the shoulder, even if the T-shield is holding it in place. if someone did it 'on purpose', then it was some big bored sibling twisting the T-shield over itself and watching it get tight...but more likely it's just the regular old roping up you can see through any car window on any crappy old seat with a nylon harness and one piece chest clip.

:)

Julie

[Dreaming_of_Speed]

I've seen OHS seats twist from being too lose and being pulled on or being washed and not put between books to dry. They will rope if they are washed and dried improperly then put on the seat too loose. The belt on the far side looks more folded than roped which is classic for soft straps that are improperly washed. Its flat going thru the chest clip which to me doesnt seem likely if the owner intentionally twisted the straps. If it were me who twisted the straps (hypothetically) i would have twisted under the chest clip on both sides so i could slide it down to the shield instead of undoing one side like this mom has.

I saw a t-shield in a brand new car 2 weeks ago. It was the first tshield i had ever seen but the car had dealers plates on it! ekkk! I hope they were in walmart buying a new seat to go with the car!

[Splash]

think about how easy it would be to flip the T-shield over and into itself a few times, though, and the twist would remain. then add the fact that those straps will get easily twisted behind the strap slots and in the chest clip to some degree (you keep twisting it at the chest clip, and the twist will ride up through the strap slots at the shoulder, even if the T-shield is holding it in place. if someone did it 'on purpose', then it was some big bored sibling twisting the T-shield over itself and watching it get tight...but more likely it's just the regular old roping up you can see through any car window on any crappy old seat with a nylon harness and one piece chest clip.

:)

Julie

Oh yeah... I didn't think of flipping the TS up and through the straps. Okay. Seems kinda like it would take effort, but I see that happening a bit more now.

I don't understand why TS were discontinued but OHS weren't. TS seem like they would be way safer than OHS. At least you can make the straps snug and the shield against the body.

Why DID they stop making TS seats?

[Unregistered]

It's a century ste 1000 tshield. They made them till atleast 2001, I know for sure. I bought one for my friend who would often leave one half of a five point unbuckled if her daughter was wearing a dress. Her daughter was very petite, fit in it nicely, and I felt it would be a seat that her mother wouldn't beable to use wrong as far as buckling her in. Installing is another story. I still felt it was better for them than a overhead shield or a five point.

[Patriot201]

When I was a nanny (about 6-7 years ago), I had a Century 1000 STE (or it might have been a 1500 STE) that I used for one of the little ones I watched. It looked A LOT like this seat, but I agree with the other posters who said this looks like a 2000 STE (the T-shield version).

The seat I used (1000 STE or 1500 STE) had VERY twisty straps that were practically impossible to untwist. The straps themselves were practically U-shaped (I don't know why they had curled like that), which made them twist even more easily. It was crazy. I would try to untwist them, but I usually just gave up. Now I know better than to "give up!!!"

I hope the owner of the seat pictured fixes the issue there! The "fix" may have to be a new seat!