CHP check was a success-mostly

The playgroup I organize had the CHP check yesterday and it went relatively well. I was pretty disappointed that they didn't encourage ERF, even though they acknowledged that it is safer. (after I opened my big mouth..) One of the moms had a cover for her infant seat, and I had told her earlier in the day that they weren't safe, and the officer told her it was okay! I am not sure what she is doing with the cover, leaving it on or off, but we'll see. I would love to be able to show her pictures of one of the covers set on fire vs. a regular seat, but I couldn't find anything. I did find the thread about the van in the walmart parking lot.
Only 6 moms attended, but I think they all learned a lot and I felt good that they were so receptive to everything. After sending out an email several months ago, a few moms have verbally committed to keeping their babies rearfacing longer and one is doing it (21 months old).
My carseat installation had ONE thing wrong, and I asked about it because I wasn't sure. Her straps in the XT were on the third slot, and they were RIGHT at her shoulders, but if I had to guess, they would be slightly above, instead of slightly below, so we moved them down to the second slot. My installation was good(thanks to all of you guys!), so she didn't want to mess with it at all. So I felt pretty good about that, I thought there would be more things wrong, although my husband told me he would be shocked if they found more things wrong because of all the research I've done. He really want me to take the class to become a tech, but I just dont have the time. I would love to in a year or so maybe.

Overall I was pleased with the inspection, other than what I mentioned, there was no other weird or unsafe advice that I heard.


OHHH! I forgot, the tech who inspected my car took a long time reading the manual for the Monterey because she had never come across it. She was reading up about the latching. She was super nice and really seemed interested in learning about it since she hasn't come across latchable boosters

ks1978 said:

My carseat installation had ONE thing wrong, and I asked about it because I wasn't sure. Her straps in the XT were on the third slot, and they were RIGHT at her shoulders, but if I had to guess, they would be slightly above, instead of slightly below, so we moved them down to the second slot. My installation was good(thanks to all of you guys!), so she didn't want to mess with it at all.

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What do you mean by this? Did you uninstall the seat and reinstall it?

Do you know the ruler/pen test for slot height? Stick a ruler, pen, or pencil through the slot in the shell and over your child's shoulder. That will help you see if it's over, under, or at. Do the straps fall off her shoulders at all? In a seat where you have plenty of room over the child's head, there is more room for the child to safely ramp up the seat, so if the straps are falling off, move them up. If the straps aren't on her shoulders, they can't do their job. If they're not falling off, then too low is better than too high in general for RFing.

keri1292 said:

What do you mean by this? Did you uninstall the seat and reinstall it?

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I guess it wasn't the installation, it was just the strap height. She didn't uninstall the seat, is she supposed to? We just adjusted the straps, and since it is RFing, we could reach everything without taking the seat out.


I dont know how to quote more than one post, but I didn't know about the pencil trick, I will use that in the future, thank you! The straps seem to fit well on either slot, they are not falling off her shoulders at all. I think she is just at a height, where she is right in between what would be okay for either slots? I will leave it at the second slots and then check again next month with the pencil, thank you for telling me about that!

There is a button in the bottom right of every post, next to the Quote button. If you hover it will say Multi-Quote. Select all the posts you want to quote, then click Post Reply.

Yes, every seat should come out when a tech checks them. They should be checked for DOM (to make sure they're not expired) and recalls (there aren't any on the Radians, so you're set). Then the parent should reinstall the seat, with the tech teaching as needed, so that the tech can verify that the parent knows how to install the seat properly.

Also, if the seat doesn't come out, it can be very difficult to spot some errors. I had one seat come into a check that looked wonderful at first glance. Installed tightly with the seatbelt, LATCH connectors properly stowed, harness properly tightened and chest clip at the right level. Mom brought it in because Dad installed it, but he was now deployed, and at 13 months the pedi told her she HAD to face forward. I corrected that misinformation, pulled the seat, and voila! The LATCH wasn't stowed, it was connected, but because the belt was over it, I couldn't see it. I ended up showing mom how to properly install FFing, then turned it completely over to her to install it RFing again. I made her switch the LATCH belt to the correct belt path and everything, so that when it came time for her to turn FFing, she could do it herself.

(I'm a newly certified tech, waiting for my number.)

Sigh. A technician should ALWAYS completely remove the seat from the vehicle, inspect it top to bottom and then go over the reinstallation step-by-step with the caregiver

Oh yeah, always remove the seats. Another great one for hiding something is the Regent. With the long belt path you can't see what's going on. I removed a friend's and the seatbelt was twisted back there and the harnesses were way off, and the seatbelt was going the wrong way around the harness. No way could I have seen that.

That's part of why we dislike police and fire. They tend to stick a hand in, give it a wiggle, and say you're done. They've done very little of their job.

I apologize sometimes if I'm removing what appears to be a perfect installation. Sometimes I'm surprised and it really really is (I had one this weekend). Normally, though, something is going on. And at the very least you get the goldfish and crumbs out from between the seat and the car.

Wendy

wendytthomas said:

And at the very least you get the goldfish and crumbs out from between the seat and the car.

Wendy

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Therein lies the perks of being a tech. THink of all the free and unexpected snacks!

So do you think I should take it in to get checked again? They were doing a lot more than wiggling around, everyone's seat was taken out except for mine, She did dig around it to see how it was installed and if there was anything under/around it. she also checked the DOM. I am pretty confident it is installed correctly, it is a latch installation. And HERE I was thinking I was super cool because she didn't take out MY seat.

If you're pretty confident in your install, I wouldn't worry too much about it. You don't have anything under it (I assume), it's not expired or recalled. Are you sure your LATCH connectors are on right side up? That's a pretty common mistake, too, and one that can be difficult to catch without uninstalling. What seating position are you using LATCH in - is it dedicated LATCH? The Radian doesn't allow borrowing, so even if your vehicle does, you can't do it. Really the only thing up to interpretation in installation is how much it moves at the belt path. Different people can look at the same seat moving, and one will say it's fine without question, another will say questionable, and a third will say it's too much movement. Other than that, everything is either right, or wrong, no interpretation in installation. When you put the child in the seat, they should check that there are no bulky coats, the harness is in the correct slots, the chest clip is positioned correctly, and the harness is tight enough (pinch test). Also make sure that all the belts are flat, with no twists. Either feel the belt through the belt path, or visually check it. Even if it was straight, sometimes it'll flip on you before you get it tight. Same goes with making sure the harness straps aren't twisted. I would say check the recline angle, but with the Radian, you pretty much can't mess that one up, especially with an older child who doesn't need a perfect 45*.

I think you aren't just the average parent coming in for a check...I mean, I assume you know that you used the LATCH or belt properly and how to check for tightness and proper harness fit all by yourself...? I could imagine not uninstalling your seat if it were that sort of group situation, personally (and maybe even high-five you when no one else was looking, ). But if you think you may have some dire hidden mistake and want to go get it re-checked, you should do so