Is there anything I can do?

MaKoski · Jan 28, 2013

I was at one of our local thrift stores... I saw they had a few infant seats, so I checked the exparation date/DOM. one was made in 2000, another was 3 or 4 yrs over due to be trashed. and there were a few that had 10m-2yr left on them. I brought the 2 that were seriously expired up to the register and tryed to explain that they needed to be destroyed and trashed but they said other people have come in saying the same thing, but they still sell them anyway.(even after me saying they were baby death traps... she said,"so I guessing you don't want the carseats?") Besides going around buying all the expired carseats, Is there anything I can do? Is there a law or something about this?

cupcakepirate11 · Jan 28, 2013

Sometimes telling them they are at risk for a lawsuit for selling expired seats is enough to get them to stop. Even if I'm not right on whether its actually true

ConnorsMommy · Jan 29, 2013

OP- in your state, Minnesota, the law requires that seats must be used according to the manufacturers instructions. Since manufacturers have an expiration date on the seats and clearly say not to use the seat after that date, it is illegal to use an expired seat. It could be argued that if someone is selling an expired seat, they are helping someone to not obey the law.
In the FAQs section on the Office of Transportation website it has this:

Can I use a second-hand seat?
Yes, as long as the seat is not more than six years old; it's free of recalls; has not been involved in a crash; all the labels are on the seat; the instruction manual is present; you know the individual who previously owned the seat; and you know the history of the seat. Purchasing seats from garage sales and re-sale shops are not recommended.