snowbird25ca
Moderator - CPST Instructor
At our seat check today, there was a Britax RA that had been involved in a crash. Parking lot speed crash, car was driveable, no injuries, no airbags deployed - basically one car bumped into the back of the parents vehicle going maybe 10km/hr (7mph?)
Sounds like according to Britax the seat wouldn't have to be replaced, right?
Wrong! Upon looking at this seat, the harness adjustment strap had split down the middle and a section of about 6 or 7" and half the width of the strap was completely frayed being mostly held together by the lengthwise threads. The seat was obviously unsafe in this case... Interestingly enough, there were no signs of stress on the shell and not so much as an indent in the EPS foam...
So it has me wondering, is using the NHTSA minor crash criteria even with carseat manufacturers that recommend it, really advisable? Both the Radian and Britax are now using that in their manuals for when to replace a seat... if a parking lot crash can have this effect on a seat that isn't expired & was in otherwise good condition, what hidden effects are there on other seats involved in similar crashes and that parents have continued to use based on the criteria?
Has anyone else ever encountered something like this?
(Too bad I didn't have a camera with me, it was sure something to see. I was able to talk to the tech who had been helping the mom, so that's how I found out all the info. Mom had the vehicle there & while I didn't see it, the tech said there was hardly any damage even to the vehicle...)
Sounds like according to Britax the seat wouldn't have to be replaced, right?
Wrong! Upon looking at this seat, the harness adjustment strap had split down the middle and a section of about 6 or 7" and half the width of the strap was completely frayed being mostly held together by the lengthwise threads. The seat was obviously unsafe in this case... Interestingly enough, there were no signs of stress on the shell and not so much as an indent in the EPS foam...
So it has me wondering, is using the NHTSA minor crash criteria even with carseat manufacturers that recommend it, really advisable? Both the Radian and Britax are now using that in their manuals for when to replace a seat... if a parking lot crash can have this effect on a seat that isn't expired & was in otherwise good condition, what hidden effects are there on other seats involved in similar crashes and that parents have continued to use based on the criteria?
Has anyone else ever encountered something like this?
(Too bad I didn't have a camera with me, it was sure something to see. I was able to talk to the tech who had been helping the mom, so that's how I found out all the info. Mom had the vehicle there & while I didn't see it, the tech said there was hardly any damage even to the vehicle...)