English Car Specs. - Anchors?

[lisamla]

We are moving to England in about 10 days. We are bringing with us a car from the US and plan to purchase a second car once we arrive. We have been looking at a 2001 Honda CRV, but I just found out it does not have car seat latches and anchors. From what I can tell, Isofix is similar to Latches found in the US, but it is not required in cars until 2014. Does anyone have any info on requirements for anchors? If we will use a seatbelt, I would prefer to also have the ability to tether the car seat down. Have tethers been required in England yet? What year can I expect to find tethers to be more common in cars?

Also, does anyone know if Americans working in England with the Foreign Service can legally use their US car seats? I read those with the Military can, is this true for the Foreign Service as well?

Thanks

 

[Adventuredad]

- European cars don't in general have US style anchors. There are some exceptions but it's rare

- Isofix is used in Europe since it's a better technical solution and easier to use. Isofix is basically two rigid alligator like connectors which are hidden in seat bight in front passenger seat and rear seat. Every rear facing Isofix seat also has support leg which is easily folded out to rest on the floor.

Benefits of Isofix is the easy, fast and secure installation. Disadvantages are the higher price and most importantntly a maximum rear facing weight of 18 kg. This is considered high for most but in Europe we also have the compact rear facing Swedish seats which pretty much all go to 25 kg rear facing. (High weight could possibly also be a disadvantage).

- Isofix has been available for many years and is today pretty much standard. All new cars today have it or can easily and cheaply be retrofitted. VW has for example had it for over 10 years.

- Isofix is also standard in front seat in many cars. Airbag in most European cars can be deactivated with switch/key. Isofix is there sine we know the front sat to be a great place for a child. It's just as safe as the rear seat as long as airbag is deactivated.

- Isofix also works great in high back boosters seats (15-36 kg)

- Swedish RF seats use the "Swedish style tethers". It's two set belt webbing straps which go from back of car seat to any solid point under front seat. the seats fit any car, regardless of antionality, without any special equipment. Some cars do have two tether loops already in place for the straps.

- Using a US car seat in Europe is technically illegal. Military staff are allowed to use US seats but not sure about foreign service. I'm sure some of the gurus here on the site will know.

- May I please ask how old your child is?

I hope you have a nice move to UK!

 

[Unregistered]

Thank you for the reply.

I have 2 children. A 2.5 year old in a Britax Diplomat and a 4 month old in a Graco Snugride. I would like to tether FF and RF.

I've decided against the 2001 CRV because of the lack of Isofix. I'm now looking at 2002 CRVs, which advertise having Isofix. Does anyone know if the 2002 CRVs have a 3 point Isofix system? I read that there was inconsistency early on and some manufactures went with just two anchor points while some went with three. Anyone know about the 2002 CRV?

I'm also wondering if my US car seats will work properly with the Isofix system. From what I can tell, Isofix and LATCH in the US are very similar and I expect a US seat would work with Isofix. Can anyone confirm this?

 

[ketchupqueen]

Yes, US seats will work with ISOFIX. As far as I know ISOFIX is regulated to weight limit of the equivalent of about 40 lbs., so that would be the lower anchor limit on any ISOFIX equipped car.

 

[AustinMusic]

The information provided by Adventuredad and the other posters is excellent and far in advance of my own knowledge; however the following may help with the UK-specific questions.

Does anyone have any info on requirements for anchors?Thanks

It was only in February of this year that a law was passed requiring ISOFIX to be fitted to newly manufactured vehicles. This law also requires that the system be fitted to a minimum number of seats (although I cannot remember how many!).

It is also worth noting, simply to avoid any confusion over terminology, that “ISOFIX” and “ISOFIT” are the essentially the same, the critical difference being that they are designed for 5 point harness seats and booster seats respectively.

If we will use a seatbelt, I would prefer to also have the ability to tether the car seat down. Have tethers been required in England yet? What year can I expect to find tethers to be more common in cars?

Tether anchors have been required in the UK since February 2006, so any UK sold vehicle that was manufactured (not only registered) after this date should have them fitted. Of course if you were to purchase an older car, the E-Z-On heavy duty tether anchors can always be retrofitted (I did this with our 2005 Ford Focus).

I have listed some sites below which are quite useful regarding child seat usage and the relating laws here in the UK. Hopefully these will be of some help.

1) Child Car Seats UK
2) Direct.gov – “When your child needs a car seat”
3) Direct.gov – “Fitting and using child car seats in your vehicle”
4) Rear Facing: The Way Forward

These are the “main sites” for the UK and hopefully will give a good overview. With regard to purchasing seats in the UK if you choose to do so, I would recommend investigating the following:

1) The In Car Safety Centre (independent business, one location)
2) Babies R Us (multiple locations nationwide)
3) Mothercare (multiple locations nationwide)
4) Halfords (multiple locations nationwide)

With regard to the final question I agree with Adventuredad. I believe using a US car seat (or rather more accurately any non-ECE R44.03 or ECE R44.04 approved car seat) in the UK is technically illegal. I do not know the exact rules however. I will try emailing the local government to hopefully find out more (don’t hold your breath over this mind – they are not renowned for quick response times).

I hope this is of some help,

Gary.

 

[Unregistered]

Thank you for the response and the links. I'm glad to hear retrofitting tether anchors is easy enough to do.