Not using shoulder straps in a five point

Paperdragon

New member
I saw this in the parking lot last week. A mom buckled a 2yo into a FF five point older looking Britax but didn't bother to put the shoulder straps on. She just did the two side buckles into the crotch strap. I could see the shoulder straps were through the bottom slots and the child's shoulders were way above that. I tried to talk with her, but she was on her cell phone and didn't hear me (or didn't want to hear me) and was still talking on it as she drove away. Would this have been worth a call to the police? Or would they have seen that the child was "buckled" and not done anything? I didn't call and now I wish I had....
 
ADS

oxeye

New member
I think it might depend on the laws in your state. Where I live, we have a "proper use" clause, so a person can be cited for using a child restraint improperly as well as not using one at all.
 

tjham

New member
I know exactly what you mean.
I do the high chair harness like that sometimes but would NEVER do the carseat that way.
That's outrageous! :eek:
It sounds like the seat was set up for a younger child and she didn't want to bother redoing it for this child. :(
 

LuvBug

New member
do you live near me? lol! there was this woman at target who did the same exact thing in what looked like a roundabout(but possibly marathon, my view was slightly obstructed) and then she closed the door and drove off. what the??
 

Niea

New member
That's crazy! I mean, if you're going to bother buckling the straps at all, why not do it properly??

I would have reported her. . the child might as well not been restrained at all. The kid will either be flung far forward (like using a lapbelt only) or be ejected entirely. Either way, it's incredibly dangerous.
 

Kellyr2

New member
My SIL used to do that. She said my nephew would take them off anyway, so she just did it up like that. I guess she had them tightened down more so that they'd (in her mind) hold his hips down more. But yeah, she'd just buckle the crotch part and the "chest clip" but his shoulders were not in a harness at all. Drove me insane. Plus the harness was twisted like a rope. She then switched to a different seat where he couldn't undo the chest clip as easily until it expired and then she just switched to a booster that I know he pulls his shoulder out of the seatbelt with.
 

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