Car seat checks would be great, IF THEY ACTUALLY KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING!

When I went to a car seat check last Saturday near my home, My kids car seats were safer when I arrived then when I left! A friend of mine does car seat checks and she is the one who normally does mine for me, but was too busy lately, so I ventured out there.

My son, who was RF in a convertible seat was left with the top tether dangling, which is not safe in an accident it is suppose to be attached to the seat when not in use! Also his seat moved like 4 inches side to side and rocked bad when pushed from side to side.

Now with my daughter who is 3 and in FF 5point harness. (She is still under 35 lbs I wish she could still be RF, but is to tall.) Same story her seat was so loose when pushed side to side it moved almost 3 inches. And the top tether was so loose it mine as well not have been used at all.

I so happened to run into my friend who does the checks (that I mentioned earlier, at a party I went to that afternoon) She came out to my car after I told of my morning experience out there! She was appalled. She said that the kids were in no way safe when they left that place. She said that the seats both moved over two inches which is the guideline, they should not move move then that (it should be less then two inches) Also since my sons tether was loose, she was severely ticked. If we had been in an accident that could have swung around and impaled his head causing severe brain damage or worse, even death!

I guess my point of the whole rant is be cautious when you go to car seat checks, know your stuff and be informed, since apparently all checkers do not know what they are doing!

Also I wish to know why if Rear facing is safe (which I know it is!) then why can you not find in this country seats that go to higher weight limits / height limits rear facing??? I mean in Europe they rear face until like 4 or 5! They make seats for them to accommodate. Many of the manufactures also make American seats, thus why can they not bring them to our market??? I know you can buy them online, but they are not legal for use in the USA.

Wow, those installs sound pretty loose. Did they not have you install the seats yourself before you left the seat check?

That's why you really should find a check run by safekids. IMO, those techs always know what they are doing. Never had an issue. A big problem is that many people (police, firefighters, etc) say they are techs but have very little training.

DahliaRW said:

That's why you really should find a check run by safekids. IMO, those techs always know what they are doing. Never had an issue. A big problem is that many people (police, firefighters, etc) say they are techs but have very little training.

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I would bet that this was a Safe Kids event. Last Saturday was "State Farm Safety Day" and there were quite a number of Safe Kids seat check events throughout Michigan. :thumbsup:

BookMama said:

Wow, those installs sound pretty loose. Did they not have you install the seats yourself before you left the seat check?

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:yeahthat:
The technicians should be teaching you how to install your seats, not doing it for you. You should have been the last person to install them before you left the seat check. I'm sorry you had such a poor experience. You are definitely right... not all CPSTs are created from the same mold.

Your seats should move less than ONE inch at the belt path.

and absolutely- my first thought is that you should have been the last one to touch the seats before you left the seat check. It is the CPST's job to instruct you how to install them properly, not do it for you.

Sorry you had such a bad experience.

My first thought was why hasn't your friend taught you so you didn't need to go to the event? I made the same mistake with a friend. She is now a tech.

I'd urge you to report the issues you had to whoever was running this check. I'm sure others went away in the same situation, and you wouldn't want even more to go away like this with the next check.

I'm not sure how these seat checks work, but is there someplace else this can be reported? Maybe someone can chime in. Anytime I see something like this I waste no time in doing whatever I can to ensure it doesn't happen to someone else.

Thank you for sharing your experience with everyone! It's really opened my eyes. If I ever go to a check, I'll make sure to double check my seats myself and not leave until I know they are safe.

MomE said:

I'd urge you to report the issues you had to whoever was running this check. I'm sure others went away in the same situation, and you wouldn't want even more to go away like this with the next check.

I'm not sure how these seat checks work, but is there someplace else this can be reported? Maybe someone can chime in. Anytime I see something like this I waste no time in doing whatever I can to ensure it doesn't happen to someone else.

Thank you for sharing your experience with everyone! It's really opened my eyes. If I ever go to a check, I'll make sure to double check my seats myself and not leave until I know they are safe.

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At a proper check, YOU will be installing the seat YOURSELF. The tech may give you a quick demonstration or put it in quickly just to be sure it fits your car if you have a tricky seat. For example, I always install the Radian on my own so I know what tips to offer before I teach the parents. Then, I take it out and giggle over the why-did-you-do-THAT? look on their faces. But, unless there is a physical reason that you can't install it yourself, we don't install it. CPST's are educators, not installers.

I'm so sorry! I've had bad car seat check up experiences before I became a technician...

keri1292 said:

At a proper check, YOU will be installing the seat YOURSELF. The tech may give you a quick demonstration or put it in quickly just to be sure it fits your car if you have a tricky seat. For example, I always install the Radian on my own so I know what tips to offer before I teach the parents. Then, I take it out and giggle over the why-did-you-do-THAT? look on their faces. But, unless there is a physical reason that you can't install it yourself, we don't install it. CPST's are educators, not installers.

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Thanks for the info! I've never been to one. Can you just go with the seat installed and have someone check it over to make sure it's okay? Or do you have to take it out and start all over?

MomE said:

Thanks for the info! I've never been to one. Can you just go with the seat installed and have someone check it over to make sure it's okay? Or do you have to take it out and start all over?

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Nope, you have to start all over. Sometimes there is misuse that isn't visible until the seat is removed. Also, the more you install your seat, the easier it is. If the thought of taking it out and doing it again is intimidating, you probably need the practice. However, I admit as a tech, there are a few seats or vehicles that I dread installing, so I understand if it's a challenging install. It's still better to know you did it right. :thumbsup:

keri1292 said:

Nope, you have to start all over. Sometimes there is misuse that isn't visible until the seat is removed. Also, the more you install your seat, the easier it is. If the thought of taking it out and doing it again is intimidating, you probably need the practice. However, I admit as a tech, there are a few seats or vehicles that I dread installing, so I understand if it's a challenging install. It's still better to know you did it right. :thumbsup:

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Hehe. Yeah, I guess getting practice isn't a bad thing! Honestly, I wouldn't really mind it too much. I never had my infant seat checked, but I'm pretty confident it's okay. It survived a side impact crash perfectly (although that was a different car), and I check just about everything (movement, seat attached to base, butt in the right place, harrness snug enough and right height, etc) EVERY time I put my daugter in it. I'm pretty obsessive with it! I'll have a convertible in there in the next week or so. So I was thinking of having that seat checked, and I most likely will.

Thanks for educating me on how these work. I'll just have to check it out!

MomE said:

Hehe. Yeah, I guess getting practice isn't a bad thing! Honestly, I wouldn't really mind it too much. I never had my infant seat checked, but I'm pretty confident it's okay. It survived a side impact crash perfectly (although that was a different car), and I check just about everything (movement, seat attached to base, butt in the right place, harrness snug enough and right height, etc) EVERY time I put my daugter in it. I'm pretty obsessive with it! I'll have a convertible in there in the next week or so. So I was thinking of having that seat checked, and I most likely will.

Thanks for educating me on how these work. I'll just have to check it out!

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You're using a new infant seat, right? They don't "survive" crashes. Most brands need to be replaced after even a minor crash and ALL seats need to be replaced after a major crash.

keri1292 said:

You're using a new infant seat, right? They don't "survive" crashes. Most brands need to be replaced after even a minor crash and ALL seats need to be replaced after a major crash.

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Oh yes! Absolutely! Poor choice of word on my point. I just meant that my daughter survived in it during the crash - no cuts, bruises, nothing. I hit my head (and still have brain damage, very minor), was bruised and cut just about everywhere. But she was fine. Scared to death of sirens taking away her Mama for a few months. Poor thing. But other than that she was fine.

In CA insurance companies must replace the seat if it was involved in a crash regardless of fault. So I promptly went out and bought the same seat in the same pattern and all. Looking back I wish I had bought her convertible at that point as she was 9 months. But I was really attached to that seat and not really thinking clearly after the accident (I still can't think clearly now!).

I apologize for taking this thread so off topic. But thank you so much for answering my questions.

MomE said:

Oh yes! Absolutely! Poor choice of word on my point. I just meant that my daughter survived in it during the crash - no cuts, bruises, nothing. I hit my head (and still have brain damage, very minor), was bruised and cut just about everywhere. But she was fine. Scared to death of sirens taking away her Mama for a few months. Poor thing. But other than that she was fine.

In CA insurance companies must replace the seat if it was involved in a crash regardless of fault. So I promptly went out and bought the same seat in the same pattern and all. Looking back I wish I had bought her convertible at that point as she was 9 months. But I was really attached to that seat and not really thinking clearly after the accident (I still can't think clearly now!).

I apologize for taking this thread so off topic. But thank you so much for answering my questions.

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Whew! I figured you had replaced it, but with the wording, I wanted to put a warning out for other readers. Glad you and your little one are fine and hope you continue to heal!

/thread jacking

swtgi1982 said:

Also since my sons tether was loose, she was severely ticked. If we had been in an accident that could have swung around and impaled his head causing severe brain damage or worse, even death!

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I would have just clipped it up myself and not depended on a tech to take care of every finer detail like that

Sorry you had a less-than-stellar experience, though. Go ahead and have your friend teach you how to install your own seats safely so you don't have to waste at another check, though :thumbsup:

My sis and I went to a similar seat check a few weeks ago. Her seats were loose as well when she left. I was surprised when I borrowed her car and seats moved soooo easily. I fixed that They didn't tell her anything about putting the handle down on an evenflo infant seat either. I was told that I'm not allowed to use the top tether with seatbelt installs

Yeah, I worked with a tech who didn't know you could use the top tether w/ seatbelt last Sat. Use of the tether was waaaay emphasised in my class, to the point where we all got LATCH manuals and if the parents didn't have tethers we were supposed to give them the info on how to retrofit.

This guy's class either didn't emphasize it like that, or he just didn't pick up on it...

Here's a GOOD car seat check experience:
http://www.car-seat.org/showpost.php?p=857139&postcount=6