A few questions about the Roundabout

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Emilysmom

Guest
A few questions about the Roundabout

I have been using the Graco Snugride, and I *love* it but my 4-mth old is too tall for it. (She is 28" tall and the seat says its max is 26")

Anyhow I purchased a Britax Roundabout after some research, I was convinced it was the safest, but I have had no joy installing it. I went to a carseat technician who had never seen one before and did not know how to install it.

I have a 2000 Toyota Camry.

So, without further ado, here are the questions

1) The rear-middle seat of the Camry has a fold-down armrest. What are the pros/cons of putting the carseat in the rear-middle or rear-side position?

2) I have heard that rear facing car seats are designed to tilt upwards in a crash to absorb the force. I have also heard that when they do this the childs head can hit the seatback and this can result in serious injury. What is true? Sort of the same question, does tethering a rear-facing seat make it any safer? It does swing upwards quite easily in my car without the tether.

3) Finally a certain DIY-guy purchased a "Cam-buckle lash strap" at Canadian Tire (a hardware store) made by Erickson Manufacturing Ltd. It is designed so that the harder you pull it the tighter it gets, but it has a quick release buckle, you just press a lever on the buckle to release it, and that worries me. I am also concerned that the buckle mighn't be strong enough to withstand any serious force. He put the Roundabout in the rear passenger side seat. Mr.Handyman didn't want to use the D-ring strap that comes with the Roundabout because he wanted to tether it to both seat rails to make it more secure. Is this safe?

4) Finally is it possible to have a proper tether anchor retro-fitted onto the car by Toyota? It has an upper tether but I can't find a lower one, and when I took the car to the dealer, he did not know what a LATCH was, and he said "most people just keep using the infant carriers because they're more convenient" <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/eek.gif ALT=":eek">

Thank you in advance for taking the time to answer all my questions!

Emily's Mom
 
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UlrikeDG

Guest
A few answers...

1) The rear-middle seat of the Camry has a fold-down armrest.
What are the pros/cons of putting the carseat in the
rear-middle or rear-side position?

Evenflo is the only car seat manufacturer that states that a seat should not be placed in front of a fold down arm rest. The advantage of using the center position is that it puts the child farthest from any potential point of impact. Additionally, it leaves the outboard positions open for any extra passengers you may have with you.

2) I have heard that rear facing car seats are designed to tilt
upwards in a crash to absorb the force. I have also heard that
when they do this the childs head can hit the seatback and this
can result in serious injury. What is true?

Seats are not *designed* to tilt up, but rather, they do tip up, so engeneers gave it a name. ;-) "The first U.S. infant restraint, which is the model for subsequent ones, did not use a tether in either direction nor a shoulder belt, but it worked very well. During development, the engineers observed that it turned over toward the vehicle seatback after a crash test and, largely in order to justify what happened anyway, they called this the 'cocoon effect.' There was also some justifiable concern that the small infant's neck might be injured on rebound or rear-impact unless the restraint were allowed to freely rotate in this direction. Justified or not, this concept has remained and seems to make intuitive sense. The counter-argument that the infant's head will 'slam' into the seatback and be injured on rebound has not been validated in nearly 30 years of accident experience." (See www.carseat.org/Technical...optetherRF for more.)

Sort of the same question, does tethering a rear-facing seat
make it any safer?

It can provide additional security in a rear or side impact or in a rollover.

3) Finally a certain DIY-guy purchased a "Cam-buckle lash
strap" at Canadian Tire (a hardware store) made by Erickson
Manufacturing Ltd. It is designed so that the harder you pull it
the tighter it gets, but it has a quick release buckle, you just
press a lever on the buckle to release it, and that worries me. I
am also concerned that the buckle mighn't be strong enough
to withstand any serious force.

You are right to be concerned! Take it off, and follow the instructions for installation in the manual that came with the seat. Personally, I'd install it in the center, but you could also install it outboard as long as you install it properly. If your husband needs "proof" adding that to the seat is A REALLY BAD THING, call Britax customer service (1-888-4-BRITAX) and talk to them.

He put the Roundabout in the rear passenger side seat.
Mr.Handyman didn't want to use the D-ring strap that comes
with the Roundabout because he wanted to tether it to both
seat rails to make it more secure. Is this safe?

There is no reason to tether it to both rails! This page has some pictures of properly tethered rear facing Roundabouts. www.angelfire.com/wa3/isa...herrf.html It would also be OK to leave the seat untethered while it is rear facing. It is not ok to totally disregard Britax's instructions and make something up.

4) Finally is it possible to have a proper tether anchor
retro-fitted onto the car by Toyota?

Toyota cannot install a tether anchor for the seat to use rear facing. You can either use the front facing tether anchor and tether the seat "australian" style toward the rear of the vehicle or you can use a "structural metal part of the vehicle (one that does not move)" and tether "swedish" style toward the front of the vehicle. Again, see www.angelfire.com/wa3/isa...herrf.html for some examples of how other people have tethered their rear facing Britax seats. Your car should have come with tether anchors for front facing car seats. I believe these are required by Canadian law, and if they aren't already there, Toyota should have no trouble installing them. Lower LATCH anchors cannot be retrofitted.

I hope that helps. Please ask for clarification if you need it!!!
 
C

CPSDarren

Guest
Just to add a bit to Ulrike's great response-

1) The middle is the first choice for most carseats, unless the manual specifically prohibits it. For your Roundabout, there is no problem, like Ulrike said. If it fits well in the middle or outside, it is really up to you where to put it. Both spots would be safe, though the middle spot is a bit farther from a side impact.

2) There has been one recent study showing some minor facial injuries which *may* have been due to the rebound of a rear-facing carseat. Even so, rear-facing carseats are still much safer than front-facing carseats, even if the rear-facing seat is allowed to rebound. An anti-rebound bar or tether makes them even a bit safer. On the other hand, there have been numerous cases of severe spinal cord injuries from babies in front facing carseats. Also see www.car-safety.org/rearface.html

3) The forces on a rear-facing tether are much lower than those on a tether used in a front-facing carseat. The D-ring strap is perfectly acceptable. We always recommend that you do not use any aftermarket products on your carseat that have not been specifically recommended by the manufacturer.

4) As Ulrike said, manufacturers do not install tethers for rear-facing carseats. Using an anchor location as specificed in the manual or at the link she provided is fine for rear-facing. As you probably know, you should already have 3 factory installed anchors for front-facing use.

Please let us know if we can answer any more questions!

Darren
 

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