"Safest seat?"

snowbird25ca

Moderator - CPST Instructor
Ok, so I'll start this thread with the required info. ;) We know that all seats sold have to meet the same minimum standards in order to be sold. We know that the safest seat is the one that fits your child, fits your vehicle, and will be used correctly every time.

That being said, if you own more than one brand of seat, do you have an "instinct" that one is safer than another? If you *knew* in advance that you were going to be in a collision, do you have a specific seat that you would just instinctively want to have in your vehicle?

I have quite a few different seats. And I definitely have a gut instinct as to what I'd choose if I knew that that trip was the one trip where I was going to crash. I trust my other seats and I know that they'd do fine as well. But somewhere inside I just feel that a specific one or two would offer even more protection than the others. Likewise I have some seats that I just can't bring myself to trust and wouldn't own due to this fact... and it's not because of results or numbers. Just a gut instinct.

So, anyone else have that sense?

(I'm purposefully not naming names so it doesn't seem like I'm trying to sway anybody to or away from a specific seat. I think this is a topic worth discussing though. And no, I wouldn't share my thoughts on this matter with parents at a seat check either.. when it comes to helping parents I try to keep personal opinions out of the equation unless it's warranted. ;))
 
ADS

gecikuh

Senior Community Member
there are definitely seats i would never put my child in because they just don't "feel" as safe to me....and yes i understand the standards to test to...but there definitely are differences...
my seat collection isn't as large as many of yours...yet.... so i don't actually own any that i wouldn't prefer to be using in a collision.
:D
 

Pixels

New member
Yes. I own 4 significantly different seats, 3 of which are not outgrown. There is 1 seat I would much rather her be in, and another seat that I really, really wouldn't mind. The third seat is good enough, just not the seat that I would pick if I knew that there was going to be a crash.

If all the convertibles I own were forward facing, my (rear facing) first pick seat wouldn't be my forward facing first pick.

It also matters what kind of crash it is. I have different preferences based on whether the crash is front impact, side impact, rear impact, multiple impacts, or rollover.
 

fyrfightermomma

New member
Yep. One of my seats is THE seat I would want her in if she were FFing. I also have THE seat for RFing I'd want the other kid to be in. There are seats I really just don't feel great about. But yeah, I definately do think some are safer than others.
 

twinsmom

New member
Yes, there are seats I would definitely not buy or want to put my kids in. Like you said - not for any hard evidence, just a gut feeling or dislike. I have absolute confidence in the seats I am using now.
 

amyd

New member
Yes, there are seats I would definitely not buy or want to put my kids in. Like you said - not for any hard evidence, just a gut feeling or dislike. I have absolute confidence in the seats I am using now.

I feel the same way.

I do, however, greatly dislike when people who should know better advocate one particular seat over another as being safer. We just don't have that kind of hard evidence. I am currently quite bothered by a local baby boutique owner who is touting one particular seat as the "safest seat in Canada". Most expensive, yes, definitely; safest? we just don't have any way to know that.

Okay, getting off my soapbox...sorry, not trying to derail:eek:
 

Chex

New member
Definitely. With 5 kids, I've owned my fair share of seats. (Although it seems some of you with 1 or 2 kids still beat me in # of seats.;))

I have 3 of my kids in seats I feel absolutely comfortable with them in. The other 2, I'd actually prefer 2 different seats over the kind they're in, but one doesn't fit well and my kids don't like the other (and it didn't fit as well either). So I'm fine with the ones they're in.

I will add that I've owned a few different carseats for a short period of time (took them back shortly after I bought them) since I didn't feel comfortable at all with the level of safety.
 

G8r4evr

New member
Great question! I look forward to reading the replies. We have only had two seats FF) and I honestly felt equally safe with both of them....until someone mentioned that one of them has a steel frame, so that one takes the cake for me. :love:
 

canadiangie

New member
Yes, there are a few seats out there I wouldn't use or buy.

More than half of the seats I own (they are not all in my siggie in case you're trying to put clues together) make me feel uncomfortable. Sad, eh?

I'm actually in limbo right now... having a bunch of seats that are of no use to me, but not being able to buy what I want because they aren't available to me.

Give me a few mos though and I'll be seat satisfied and, um, flat broke because of it. Perrrrfect. :p
 
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ZephyrBlue

New member
there are definitely seats i would never put my child in because they just don't "feel" as safe to me....and yes i understand the standards to test to...but there definitely are differences...

I agree.

This is something I've thought about a lot in the past 9.5 years since I started buying seats. It's why we don't have seats that I consider to be inferior as back up seats, or for our 2nd vehicle that the kids don't ride in as often. You just never know when you're going to depend on a seat to save your child's life, and to me, using a "cheap back up seat" is like playing Russian Roulette with my kids' lives. Some people think we're crazy for having seats like the True Fit and Monterey as spares, but I just can't in good conscience use a seat that I feel is even one percent less safe than our primary seats.

I will admit, as well, that I always felt certain seats were absolutely safe. Then I read the NHTSA compliance test results for 2009. Yeah, that was a real eye-opener for me. There are still companies and consequently, specific seats that I don't trust, though, based on how they've handled problems in the past.
 

Maedze

New member
So I thought about this on the treacherous :rolleyes: ride to soccer and back.

I'm perfectly happy with the seats Beans the 2nd and 3rd are in (rear facing MRs). If I knew we were to have a severe accident of any kind on that road trip, I'd pick the My Rides: fit the kids beautifully, have incredibly deep shells, nice thick layer of EPS foam and most importantly of all they are rear facing.

Bean the First is primarly in a Graco Nauti which I am especially fond of given TC's videos on it. However, he's currently in a Safety First CA (FF) until his torso grows another inch or so and the head rest at the top position on the Nauti stops looking so creepy.

Would I have switched from the CA (the weight limit of which is pushing) to the Nauti, ugly fit and all, if I'd know we'd have had an accident that day? Not sure.

Our other seats include Radians (probably wouldn't choose them *over* the My Rides due to the SIP) and a Britax Boulevard which I wouldn't use forward facing. I inherited a Chase today, which also wouldn't be my primary choice for an accident.

Now here's my big confession. I truly believe that the safety difference between a forward facing harnessed tethered seat and a good booster is negligible for a child Bean the First's size (5 years, 47 pounds, 47").

However, if I knew for certain sure we'd be in an accident today, he'd be in the harnessed seat, no questions.

I am a terrible, inconsistent hypocrite :crying:
 

Shanora

Well-known member
Out of the 3 seats I currently own, if I knew we were going to be in a collision, I'd give DD DS#2 MA (Rfing) and Ds#2 the MR FFing. I really, REALLY am not comfortable with his seat FFing. It really freaks me out when I think about it (so I really really try not to....cause I doubt DH would let me buy a new seat.....Although Trudy....I MAY try your RA in my van, JUST to see....).
 

canadiangie

New member
Out of the 3 seats I currently own, if I knew we were going to be in a collision, I'd give DD DS#2 MA (Rfing) and Ds#2 the MR FFing. I really, REALLY am not comfortable with his seat FFing. It really freaks me out when I think about it (so I really really try not to....cause I doubt DH would let me buy a new seat.....Although Trudy....I MAY try your RA in my van, JUST to see....).

Good thinking. :whistle:
 

babygirlsmom1005

New member
The primary seats I have for my kids - yes, if I were in a accident today, I feel completely safe with them in the seats they are in. I have 8 seats total (4 are loaned out to friends to either re-harness thier kid, kid outgrew infant seat - needed something bigger, kid needed bucket seat to fit small newborn & neighbors booster expired - all friends hit very hard by the economy and just don't have the extra money at this time and all people I trust 100%).

The backup seat (fits both the kids - son RF'ing, daughter FF'ing) - I would prefer not to have them in it.....but this backup seat was purchased not for my kids, but for a friends daughter that rides with us occasionally just it happens to fit both of mine and both have ridden in it at least once in a pinch (I got tired of playing car seat shuffle every time we went somewhere with 4 kids ready to go - her two and my two - easier for me to install it the night before and not be rushed - plus at the time of purchase, it was a step up from her primary seat until I talked her mom into a MR65 :)).

With my daughter, I have her RF'ing again and very confident in her seat. I am also confident in her FF'ing seat, but having the choice in the accident - she would be RF'ing.
 

monstah

New member
That being said, if you own more than one brand of seat, do you have an "instinct" that one is safer than another? If you *knew* in advance that you were going to be in a collision, do you have a specific seat that you would just instinctively want to have in your vehicle?
Absolutely.
 

Lea_Ontario

Well-known member
Not so sure about which seats feel safest to me, but I'd be much more at ease knowing that Bear was not riding in his Intera at the time of a collision, it just doesn't feel as strong as the others do.

I would much prefer if Bear was RF, but he's not at this point due to his weight.

And I'd want Boo in his Nauti for the harness, even though I know it's ssaid he'd be "just as safe" in a booster at this point (7y3m, 50lbs).

Bug is in a Radian in both vehicles, and while I'm not crazy about the idea of it in a side-impact collision (it's not as deep as the True Fit or the Nautilus).
 

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