It's a lot of fun brand-bashing, but I'd like to give you some perspective. I'm an old-timer. I've been in CPS either researching for my own child or out of general interest for over 9 years now. I've seen a lot of changes and many of them have come about because of Britax.
Britax has been innovative. They had rear-facing tethers long before anyone could wrap their heads around them. Remember the Roundabout? It had/s the smoothest harness adjuster around. Some of us can't bear to part with our long expired RAs--I wonder why. Britax was the first company around that had a selection of cute covers from which to choose for their seats--remember Flower Power? You had to pay a premium on eBay to get that cover and they almost always sold out immediately. Built-in lockoffs to replace locking clips, easily removed covers, non-twist straps, 5-point harnesses (!), easy to install, etc. These were all innovations that helped push other companies to develop the seats you now love. It took years for SK to come out with the Radian (and the Radian still doesn't have lockoffs). Graco only recently put built-in lockoffs on their infant seats and has only recently come out with a seat, the GN, that has been a hit. The TrueFit is a competitor to the MA that has MA-like features.
I'm not dismissing the numbers on the compliance testing--they've always been there. This is nothing new. No need to panic. Use the seat properly and do your jobs as advocates to teach other parents to use their seats properly.
But remember that you are in a public part of our forums and while you are certainly allowed to have opinions, bashing a brand of carseats accomplishes nothing. All manufacturers have their good points and their bad points and all are constantly striving to improve their products.
Britax has been innovative. They had rear-facing tethers long before anyone could wrap their heads around them. Remember the Roundabout? It had/s the smoothest harness adjuster around. Some of us can't bear to part with our long expired RAs--I wonder why. Britax was the first company around that had a selection of cute covers from which to choose for their seats--remember Flower Power? You had to pay a premium on eBay to get that cover and they almost always sold out immediately. Built-in lockoffs to replace locking clips, easily removed covers, non-twist straps, 5-point harnesses (!), easy to install, etc. These were all innovations that helped push other companies to develop the seats you now love. It took years for SK to come out with the Radian (and the Radian still doesn't have lockoffs). Graco only recently put built-in lockoffs on their infant seats and has only recently come out with a seat, the GN, that has been a hit. The TrueFit is a competitor to the MA that has MA-like features.
I'm not dismissing the numbers on the compliance testing--they've always been there. This is nothing new. No need to panic. Use the seat properly and do your jobs as advocates to teach other parents to use their seats properly.
But remember that you are in a public part of our forums and while you are certainly allowed to have opinions, bashing a brand of carseats accomplishes nothing. All manufacturers have their good points and their bad points and all are constantly striving to improve their products.