Safe Kids Seat Check Vent

Sorry this is long, I was surprised and frustrated today. Was super excited to get my installs checked at a real live safe kids check. I had been corresponding with a tech in my area via FB about some install questions I had, but she needed to see it in real life to figure out my situation.
I pulled up, asked for that tech by name, she was helping another family and they said that all of them were certified and could help. I had no problem with that, and three techs crawled into my backseat to look at the seat in question (frontier 85 in 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan) One tech couldn't figure out what the seat was :doh: (the 85 wasn't on her list??) another started questioning if the center was even a valid point to put the seat , it is the only place with a tether...obviously an ok location for a carseat!! That same one commented that she had never seen a tether like that (v-tether). I was a bit discouraged realizing that even uncertified I seemed to know more about this stuff than they did (I know, a lot is car specific, but this is a common car and a much discussed seat).
The real clincher was when I asked a question about my Rfing blvd that is tethered to the Driver's seat rail. I was worried about moving the seat back and forth pulls the tether a small amount. The tech immediately told me that the way I had it tethered was not ok. She said that there was no way of knowing how much weight that tether point would hold. I told her that I had used the D-ring to create a tether point, using the driver rail, anchored to the floor. She said that even though I found some sort of hardware to hook my tether to that didn't make it safe (she didn't know what a D-ring is). She was adamant that if the Auto manufacturer has not tested, approved, and written in the manual every possible spot to anchor to, that means it is unacceptable. It doesn't matter what Britax says about tethering. While I get her point, it was clear that she was unfamiliar with RF tethering, based on other comments that she made (and britax seats in general). The tech that I had requested had come over by then and was frustrated that this other tech didn't really know what she was doing, but was clearly getting irritated with me and the fact that I didn't just accept her word as gospel. The irritated tech called a couple of other more senior techs, who stepped away, discussed, and returned with the official edict that I should call Dodge and ask if the rail is an acceptable tether point.
I left feeling like this :banginghead: I was disappointed that the "good" check had a tech who was so new and inflexible working it.

*On the bright side, the tech I came to see was great, knew what she was talking about, said that ultimately it was a judgement call, but the rail is a much used spot and well accepted as a safe tether point. :2thumbsup:

How frustrating. Glad the tech you came to see straightened things out for you. Maybe you could report them to Safe Kids.

Hearing stories like this make me appreciate the techs I do have in my area! Our class had a very WIDE array of seats to learn about and experiment with. And our instructors were very smart and full of knowledge that is exactly what I hear here. The first time Id seen a RF tether was with one of the instructors showing me one.

Im sorry you had such a rough time but I am glad that one tech came in and "saved the day" lol and I hope all your install questions were addressed.

Chris, I'm so very sorry about today and overall in shock over your entire check. I don't even know what to say.

Sorry, it's me Jennifer, I forgot I'm daileyjoy here.

Chris said:

She was adamant that if the Auto manufacturer has not tested, approved, and written in the manual every possible spot to anchor to, that means it is unacceptable. It doesn't matter what Britax says about tethering. While I get her point, it was clear that she was unfamiliar with RF tethering, based on other comments that she made (and britax seats in general).
*On the bright side, the tech I came to see was great, knew what she was talking about, said that ultimately it was a judgement call, but the rail is a much used spot and well accepted as a safe tether point. :2thumbsup:

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My lead instructor at my tech class, TAUGHT us about Australian and Swedish tethering, then showed us Swedish and told me that there was no such thing as RF tethering when I was installing a Radian RF.

She said RF tethering is only allowed where there is a TT anchor available in front of the RF seat (IE a 3rd row of a minivan etc)

And told me that if it isn't in the vehicle manual it isn't allowed anyway.

I would have blown it all off it had been anything other than a Safe Kids Check. I know that they are really supposed to know what they are talking about because they are generally passionate about it vs just doing checks for work like fire/police sometimes do.

I have really been wanting to get certified, and now I just want to do it more, to make sure that parents have access to someone willing to educate themselves on ALL kinds of seats and cars. (and someone who realizes they might NOT know all the answers and could admit it!)

I'm not surprised. I just went through the CPST course, and there was only once a brief, 5 second long mention of rear tethering and how it was only allowed by one brand. Which it's allowed by more than one brand. Had I not already been familiar with it I'm not sure I'd remember it.

I've worked 4 or 5 safe kids' checks now and the vast majority of seats checked are not "high end". At cpst training, there was only a mention of rfing tethering and certainly no demonstrations. (The instructions were more like: "Read the manual!") Techs certainly should be more open to reading the manual. I know they are attached to the britax seats.

So true! It seems (at least around here) that most people who can afford the higher end seats feel like they "bought the best seat out there so they don't need to have it checked" Maybe not but it seems that way. We almost never see Britax seats. In my 5 years as a tech, I think I've only installed 2 Britax, 1 Recaro (thanks to Christine). I've only installed 1 Radian (my own) but dozens of Dorel, Evenflo, and Graco seats. It is quite rare to see the higher end seats at seat checks but they really should read the manuals and be better educated.

I sometimes wonder if techs are there because they were forced to take the class and now need to do the checks. After I got my CA I just needed the pool noodles SK here has, and it was December so no choice to get it in the store. The seat was to upright and we knew it because we knew we needed the noodles. I pointed it out right away (drove DS in my car and the seat being checked was in DH's truck). She docked us for that, even after I pointed it out myself. Then with the manual in HER hands she asked me if the "65" after CA meant it could FF to 65lbs. I seriously thought she was kidding.

I had a similar experience, though the tech who didn't know anything about RF tethering was very polite and honest about not knowing. That's what sent me down the road to getting certified, actually, so: silver lining? RF tethering was mentioned in passing once in my class, and my instructor, too, said that only one company allowed it. It basically isn't in the curriculum.

Being nice and respectful of the parents who come in to checks, however, is in the curriculum.

Kobain's Mommy said:

She docked us for that, even after I pointed it out myself.

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FTR, if by docked, you mean that she marked that it was installed incorrectly on the check form -- she has to do that. It's not a test where you missed getting 100% We are required to document, on the check form, how seats come in and how they leave. If a parent comes in and says, "my baby jumped from 21.5 to 22.1lbs just this morning... her Snugride only goes to 22lbs, so I brought a RadianXTSL to keep her RF as long as possible," I still have to mark that they are over the weight limit on the sheet, despite this parent doing all of the "right" things and maybe having a perfect install.

Not bothering to look at the *cover* of the manual and see that the seat FFs to 65lbs is ludicrous, though...

There was LOTS of stuff that was missed in my tech class. I know the now-techs that I learned with are going to send lots of kids out safer than they arrived, but at the same time, not nearly as safe as they could be -- kwim? It's frustrating.

I'm sorry you had such a bad time at the check. A parent should always feel confident about the techs helping them.