Questions thread for May 15th live chat!

[safeinthecar]

Question 1: What criteria ie: HIC, degree of movement are being used to evaluate SIP?

Question 2: With recent studies showing the vast superiority in SIP in rear-facing child seats, what tactics or incentives would you recommend to

A: increase rear-facing practices by parents and caregivers

B: effectively disseminate rear-facing information tand advantages to sources where parents are likely to seek safety information ie: doctors, media, internet

C: encourage manufacturers to produce products able to keep older children in rear-facing seats

D: ensure CPS technicians and instructors fully understand and consistently promote rear-facing practices

 

[snowbird25ca]

Do you see a difference in crash test results when comparing rf'ing seats that are tethered, vs. testing with a seat not tethered?

If so, how big a difference is it?

What measurements are used in determining the degree of SIP?

Since there is no testing standard for side impacts in North America, what are the crash test results being compared to in order to state that the seat offers side impact protection or true side impact protection?

Would any seat with a deeper shell and EPS or EPP foam in the head area perform similarly? Are there other determining factors as to how much side impact protection a seat provides?

Canadian specific questions:

What would Britax recommend in regards to a 33" 19lb child who is 10mos old, given that the CDN seats list a 32" height maximum in the manual and on the labels, yet the child is too young and too small to ff?

If Britax does revise the height and/or weight limits on the CDN seats, how soon could we expect to see the seats with higher height and/or weight limits arriving?

If a numerical value still is listed for the height limit, is it possible it could be raised to a more reasonable number like 37 or 38"? That would get most kids to close to 30lbs, and combined with the 1" rule already stated in the manual would ensure that kids still fit properly by height.

The RA has a shell approximately 2" higher than the Graco Safeseat 1, yet it is rated for 30" whereas the SS1 is rated for 32" rf'ing height. Is there a reason for this?

What is the basis for choosing 32" as the height limit? The MA back is about 25" tall according to my measurements, and I'd hazard a guess that it's a pretty rare child who would carry less than 25% of their height in their legs so it seems near impossible to me that a 32" child could outgrow the MA via having less than 1" of hard shell above his or her head.

 

[wondering1]

When will covers for the Regent be available for purchase? (plugging unisex: brown or green camo and deep dark purple, etc)

Will Britax be testing the use of EPS foam on the outside of boosters/safety seats for possible increase in protection for nearby belted passengers?

 

[bombedier]

Since there is no testing standard for side impacts in North America, what are the crash test results being compared to in order to state that the seat offers side impact protection or true side impact protection?

This is my primary question also!

 

[Gypsy]

Nevermind - I read further and saw it was already asked

 

[valleyfam]

As asked above:

will regent covers be sold

is there any chance my post June 07 regent could be installed LBP for 40lb+ child since older regents could and new Frontiers can (right?)

Thank you.

 

[UlrikeDG]

1) Can you talk a bit about side curtain airbags and child restraints? Is there any data about how well (or not) SABs in vehicles protect children in 5 point harnesses and/or in boosters?

2) Ms. Tilton, several times a month, we have parents post on this site asking about using a convertible seat from birth (they don't want or need an infant carrier's expense or "convenience"). Britax convertible and infant seat instructions require a rear facing child's shoulders to be at or above the bottom slots. SafeRideNews has said that it's OK to use a rear facing seat even before a newborn's shoulders reach the bottom slots (http://www.saferidenews.com/articles_srn/CR/CR_articles.htm), and in a Q&A with Tom Baloga ~7 years ago, I asked him about whether Britax intended to produce convertible seats with lower bottom slots to better fit a newborn, and he stated that Britax convertibles fit a newborn fine. Can you speak to these discrepancies, and if it really is important that an infant's shoulders be at or above the bottommost harness slots, does Britax intend to make a convertible seat with low enough slots to justify the 5 lb minimum weight limit? In the meantime should we continue to steer parents away from Britax products if they want to use a convertible seat from birth?

 

[SafeDad]

My Question-

Can you please post the instruction manual pdf file for the Britax Expressway ISOFIX back onto the website? The link is broken for me!


For those who want a bit more information on the Britax Frontier, this may tide you over until the chat session-

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=45611

 

[skipspin]

THIS THREAD IS NOW CLOSED TO QUESTIONS.

I've taken these questions to edit for Thursday's chat. Any addition questions can be asked during the chat, time permitting.

See you there!