3 questions

D

DaveCS

Guest
3 questions

This first one may be hard to answer. I was asked to take a look at an older Caravan that the guy in the next stall was working on. When I went over to check it out I noticed a car seat in the back, so I grabbed ahold and pulled to see if it was tight. (weird fetish of mine) It was, however, it was a Fisher Price T-Sheild seat. Looked old. I understand from reading the Parents Place car seat board that these things are not safe or recalled or something. Should I have said something? They didn't have the money to fix the van, so who knows what their finances are like. I hesitate to freak people out who may not be able to afford a replacement seat. Opinions?

Second. What should I tell customers that have a car seat installed improperly? I'm not a car seat tech, so I don't know if they would believe me or not. I can't recommend a tech for an inspection because I have been unable to get a response from anybody in the east metro to inspect my seats. (leave message, no return call, seat inspection in the St. Paul, Minneapolis area is a joke!) What, if anything should I say?

Third. What do you do with an old car seat? We will no longer be using our Evenflo On My Way. It was built on Sept. 27 1998. It is not a recalled model and we have 2 bases for it. I was going to throw it away. Any other options?

Dave
 
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C

Caviller

Guest
3 answers!

1) If the seat is not under a recall, or has been fixed for any recalls, then it is probably acceptable as long as it is used properly. If it is over 6 years old or has an unknown history, it is probably due for replacement.

A T-shield itself is not necessarily unsafe, though 5-point harnesses are preferred especially for young infants. It may be the case that all Fisher Price T-shields are out of date, I will look it up tomorrow if I have a chance, unless someone beats me to it:)

2) Contact your local SafeKids organization. They may have literature you can distribute, and might be able to help with inspections, too: www.safekids.org

I will forward your post to someone in your area who may be able to help.

3) Since it is not recalled and not over 6 years old, I think it is fine to sell it at a garage sale or on ebay or give it to a friend. Just make sure all the labels are intact, especially the model number and date of manufacturer, make sure all the parts are present and in good condition, make sure you have the manual, and mention that it has not been in a crash.

Unfortunately, most charitable organizations cannot accept used seats since there is a liability issue for anything that isn't brand new:-(

Darren
 
T

tobymc

Guest
I'm a tech in Minneapolis...

Hi Dave.

I'm sorry to hear that you've had trouble finding a tech in the metro area. Have you found the listing for carseat clinics? Department of Public Safety maintains is, and it is a great reasource. www.dps.state.mn.us/trafs...dhome.html .
I know that some of the listings are for on-going fitting stations and others for one-time events. There are several upcoming clinics, so you should be able to find one pretty soon. And if you have more trouble, you can e-mail me and I'll help you find a tech, or inspect your seats myself. (tobymcadams@sihope.com).

As for the Fisher Price T-shield, I don't think any of them are less than 6 years old. So that seat you saw really should be replaced. In addition, it should be installed tight, which that one probably wasn't.

I'd suggest saying to the family "I couldn't help but notice your carseat too. I'd strongly recommend getting that inspected, which you can do for free around here. It appears to be too old, and should probably be installed tighter, but the experts can tell you more." I try to make it clear to parents (especially ones that are getting this information unsolicited) that THEY are good parents and have done nothing wrong. There is just something that I think they SHOULD do now to make their children safer. Most clinics and permanent fitting stations around here (when you can find them!) do stock extra seats, and will want to send a child away in a good one. If the parents can't pay, or can't pay much, they'll still send the seat. And if they for some reason didn't have replacements, they could at least teach the family how to use the seat they have.

It sounds like you are a mechanic, and so probably see a lot of child safety seats, mostly installed incorrectly (since most are incorrect). I'd recommend going back to that MN DPS page and looking for the free literature. You can get a packet (50 I think) of the Don't Skip a Step brochures, and maybe some Buckle Up Kids booklets for free. You can have basically as many as you think you'll use for free. You can hand them out and/or hand them to parents who seem to need them. They have the 1-800 number and the website on them to get parents in touch with techs.

And third, Darren is correct that you can give away or sell your infant seat. Just make sure it has no recalls (which you've apparently already done), is in good shape and has all its parts, and has never been in a crash. It should last for 6 years, so it has at least one more infant in it, if someone wants it. You might also ask at the clinic you find - they might want it to give to a family who needs a new seat.

And finally, I always love to hear of more folks interested in promoting child safety, especially in my area. Thanks!

Toby
 
S

safeinthecar

Guest
Re: 3 questions

Also, You should not use, or sell a seat that has been check as baggage on an airline unless it was boxed up in such a way that it was protected from turbulence and/or careless handling(same as crashing a seat) I pulled two carseats this weekend alone that had visible damage from airline baggage travel.Makes me wonder what kind of unseen damage can occur. You will also want to replace the harness if it has ever been washed or dried in a way other than the manufacturer recomends as that can weaken them. I run a loaner program and this is what i do to make sure that all my seats are safe.
 

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