Question How to get a higher rf seat to canada?

Hi
I'm looking to get a higher RF limit seat other than the radian xt as I'm not impressed with it's recline. Also I need it for my middle daughter. I think my oldest is too big?

I have two vehicles. One 2005 honda civic. I have 3 radians crammed in there. Middle is RF and outer FF.

Our main vehicle is our 2005 Toyota 7 passenger sienna. We have a britax Cs boulevard RF and radian xt RF in the captains chair and a frontier in the rear. I went to my local carseat tech to help with the recline of the radian. I have to go back with my daughter this time because it won't stay upright. Anyways I see your posts about the multi tech. I'm so envious I really want one now.

How do I get one and can I use it here?

My kids are 5.5 girl 42 pounds
3 years 35 pounds
22 month 20 pounds

Obviously I can't fit anything but a radian in my civic and I was hoping to move my xt over to the civic so dd2 can RF in it. The other radians I have have lower RF limits. So that's my excuse to my dh if I can find a new seat with a higher RF limit for our minivan.

Oh and another question. On the sweden websites how do they achieve so much leg room?

My husband thinks I'm crazy but goes along with it. Now he tells his friends that erf is the way to go. love that!

Where are you located? Just curious if any of the Canadian techs from this board are near you.

No, it won't be legal to use the seat.

I have no idea how you go about getting one.

We fixed her up.
We ended up moving the Radian to the back bench where it sits much more upright and the seat is firm.
She didn't have her daughter with her when she came the first time, so the install was solid and nicely upright, but I wasn't able see that when the child is actually in it, it sinks into the cushion of the seat about two inches and then reclines.

I just want to second the previous post stating that its illegal to use a Swedish seat in Canada. Depending on your province fines may or may not include demerits on your license, and there is potential for an insurance company to sue you for the expenses of any injury claim that was paid out to your child if she was injured in a seat that was not legal for use in Canada.

With such a wide choice of seats available in Canada the vast majority of Canadian children can rf to a safe age and size in what's available here. I wouldn't recommend importing a Swedish seat even if you could manage to get it across the border. (Some border crossings will confiscate seats that aren't approved for use in Canada... that would be a pure luck-of-the-draw thing that you wouldn't be able to predict.)

nutritionistmom said:

We fixed her up.
We ended up moving the Radian to the back bench where it sits much more upright and the seat is firm.
She didn't have her daughter with her when she came the first time, so the install was solid and nicely upright, but I wasn't able see that when the child is actually in it, it sinks into the cushion of the seat about two inches and then reclines.

Click to expand...

I've seen this in a few vehicles now unfortunately. Sometimes it will slip right away when checking for front to back movement, but other times it doesn't happen until the kiddo is in the seat.

I'm glad you guys were able to get it worked out.

I'd wonder how you'll get it through the border/customs if you don't live close to the border?

I've heard of (and seen a few in cars way back) people getting a Regent (before Frontier days), but we're on the Canadian/American border. So, we'd ship it to the US (or drive a bit further to Target) and then buy what we want. The smart people then install it in the car & toss the box.

The less than smart ones leave it in the box in the car. The lucky ones from there then get through, unnoticed, but the unlucky ones get it confiscated. Personally know people that did this w/ baby buckets w/ their first kids (some knowing others not knowing it wasn't aloud). Most got through, but there were a few people that didn't. One of those was lucky & they were aloud to turn around & return the car seat/stroller to Target. No idea what the end result w/ the others were, lost touch w/ them...

I thought there was a site that people know if here that will ship to the US. Maybe the'll ship direct here to? Though, I suspect you'll run the same risk that you'll get it here & run the risk that it'll be taken away...

Could you get a RN which RF to 45# for ODD and hope something comes out in the next year that is higher than that? My 5.5YO is in one & has a few #s/inches to go...

tam

Thanks to nutritionistmom for fixing my seat. Dd2 fell asleep on the way home. The only thing she wasn't happy with was the lack of DVD !!

I'm not going to import a seat. I'm going to stick with what is legal here. Any news on any higher weight seats being released in the future?

Im also worried about what I'm going to do once my radians don't fit in my civic. I think I may have 2 more years. Maybe my wonderful dad will trade vehicles with me? (dreaming). He has a 2005 8 seater Toyota minivan.

Too bad car-seat.org could design the perfect seat all of us could use legally!

I can't tell you all how happy I am to have found this site. Thanks for your help.

- Importing a Swedish/EU seat to Canada is perfectly legal. Using it is technically illegal just like in US. This has been verified many times with customs and by real life experience.

- Taxes/duties are supposed to be paid but when shipping with a good premium service this is almost never an issue.

- Children will not be denied coverage for being in a non-approved seat. This is a popular myth which is incorrect. Children are covered regardless of circumstances.

Glad you got your seat situation taken care of

I didn't know kids in non-Canadian or us seats were still covered by insurance. But I never trust insurance companies. Anyone work for one that can vouch for this? Or had experiences?

Adventuredad said:

- Importing a Swedish/EU seat to Canada is perfectly legal. Using it is technically illegal just like in US. This has been verified many times with customs and by real life experience.

Click to expand...

Do you have any documentation for that, at all? 'Real Life Experience' to me just equals people that didn't get caught. Because the government's own website clearly states that:

Transport Canada is concerned that parents and caregivers may not know that it is illegal to import and use in Canada a seat that does not comply with Canadian standards.

Click to expand...

It goes on to explain the National Safety Mark etc. Do the Swedish seats have that mark? Source: http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/safedrivers-childsafety-notices-2007c09-menu-353.htm

It concerns me that I've seen you state several times that the import is legal, but the use might not be (both are illegal per the Transport Canada site). And what on earth would be the point of advising someone to import something they can't legally use anyway?

Adventuredad said:

- Importing a Swedish/EU seat to Canada is perfectly legal. Using it is technically illegal just like in US. This has been verified many times with customs and by real life experience.

- Taxes/duties are supposed to be paid but when shipping with a good premium service this is almost never an issue.

- Children will not be denied coverage for being in a non-approved seat. This is a popular myth which is incorrect. Children are covered regardless of circumstances.

Glad you got your seat situation taken care of

Click to expand...

If you re-read my post, you will see that I didn't say the children would be denied coverage. I said that the insurance company could sue the parents to recover the cost. This has happened in the US and I believe I'm aware of one instance where an insurance company turned around and sued a parent in Canada for negligence in restraining their child. It's called subrogation - the claim is paid out, but the cost of the claim can be recovered depending on circumstances and what the company chooses to do. (Note that this does not affect health care, health care is covered provincially. The part that an insurance company pays out is bodily injury.)

To clarify - the personal importation is not technically illegal, though the use is illegal. Importation for sale or distribution is illegal.

Whether or not a seat gets confiscated is luck of the draw. Just because you've never had it happen doesn't mean it doesn't happen. I've heard of people having US seats confiscated when trying to cross the border enough times (even when out of the box, if they look new,) to not doubt that it happens. Health Canada can confiscate them under the hazardous products act if they wanted to, the same way they'll confiscate walkers when people try and bring them across the border.

farrbabies said:

I didn't know kids in non-Canadian or us seats were still covered by insurance. But I never trust insurance companies. Anyone work for one that can vouch for this? Or had experiences?

Click to expand...

I used to work in insurance in AB before having my dd. The only definitive thing I can tell you is that it's impossible to make a blanket statement across the board. The actions of the insurance company when all is said and done could vary widely, and would depend on circumstances and police report etc.

The company can't deny a claim to the child because the child isn't responsible for how he's restrained. But they can turn around and try to recoup costs from the parents if they so chose, and that's the part that I can't say for sure. The likelihood of that happening isn't very high IMO - but it's hard to say. I imagine if there was a rash of illegal seats and kids being injured in illegal seats that we'd see more policies come out about it. I didn't work in claims so never saw all the subtle variations to see how often subrogation happened against private individuals - I worked in underwriting and policy changes and answering questions about what was covered and not covered etc. We were taught about subrogation though and as I mentioned in my earlier post, I am aware of a few instances that I've come across over the years where an insurer has started subrogation against an insured.

To be honest, I think fear of insurance companies and tickets - while very good reasons, aren't the most important reason. I think the fact that it doesn't meet Canadian standards, combined with Canadian seats being available to get most kids to an age where they're very safe ff'ing, mean that it's just not worth it. I might feel differently if I had an 8 month old who was very overweight and pushing 45lbs. But a 2 or 3yr old? Nope. I would choose the legal Canadian version every time and ff if he/she had maxed out the rf'ing capability of his/her seats.

(Health care is completely unrelated to the actual insurance issue and because it's provincially funded either through premiums or taxes, it cannot be denied to an individual. The person who doesn't wear a seatbelt and gets ejected and subsequently paralyzed won't get a hospital bill either - they'll just live with a lifetime of pain and suffering that they didn't necessarily have to have....)

Adventuredad said:

- Children will not be denied coverage for being in a non-approved seat. This is a popular myth which is incorrect.

Click to expand...

Hmmm, not necessarily the case in BC. If the driver knowingly imports and uses a non-Canadian seat (such as a Swedish seat), they could be deemed by ICBC to be in breach of their contract of compulsory collision insurance. If you are a driver in breach (just as if you are driving while under the influence), ICBC pays out on the claim, but sues the "in breach" driver to recover. So, the child might get coverage, but the parent is sued for the amount of that coverage, which in effect denies coverage to the child.

This reminds me of a recent story about insurance company and the extend it would go to recover its cost...

The story went something like this... A dog owner let the dog out one day and a woman hit a dog (in Toronto) and and ran. The dog died shortly after due to the hit. The dog owner did not know who hit the dog and grieved for the dog, but she then later received a bill from an insurance company for the cost of the hitter's car repair work, because the insurance company found her responsible for letting the dog out.

It has been a while since I read the story but here it is http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/815050--dog-killed-by-car-family-billed-for-the-damages?bn=1

The insurance company is quoted...

State Farm interviewed the driver, police and other witnesses, said spokesman John Bordignon, adding that Canadian courts have found that the rules of negligence apply in such cases.

“This is an incredibly unfortunate circumstance, but we’re going by the precedent that we have. We see no negligence on the part of the driver and according to law, we believe the owners were negligent in the sense that they could have made sure their dog wasn’t free on the roadway,” Bordignon said.

“By law, we have a right to pursue our customer’s interest in this matter in terms of the damage to the vehicle.”

State Farm has told the Flemmings it can pursue costs through their homeowner liability insurance, rather than through them personally, Bordignon added.

Click to expand...

What would the court and insurance company say about parents knowingly import and use an 'illegal' carseat? I would rather not be the test case (and thanks for better seat selection in Canada these days, I don't have to make parental choices that I had to when my older 2 kids were younger and needed seats with higher harness weight limits and/or with high top harness slots).