Latch and Seat Belt

[pubs90]

Hello,
I have my childs seat attached with both latch and the seat belt. The seat doesn't move with latch, but I read consumers reports a while ago and they rated the Marathon as poor with latch installation.
I recently read an article (in Parents Magazine) which stated that you can use Latch or the seat belt to attach a car seat but never both. It didn't go any further to explain why not both?

Does anyone know?

	Britax Marathon - Click for more info Increasing the time a child can safely stay in their convertible car seat is a big issue and Britax engineers have come through in a big way with the introduction of the Britax Marathon with LATCH. A LATCH Compatible Convertible Child Seat, the Britax Marathon can be used rear facing 5 to 33 pounds and forward facing from 20 to 65 pounds. Compare the numbers and you will see it is hard to find a seat with these weight limits that is safe and functional.

	LATCH LATCH stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren. It is a system mandated by the Federal government in an effort to standardize and simplify the installation of child restraints without using the vehicle's seat belt system. New vehicles and child safety seats manufactured on and after September 1, 2002 will be equipped with the LATCH system. Cars, minivans, and light trucks will be required to have anchor points between the vehicle's seat cushion and the seat back in at least two rear seating positions, and a top tether anchor (with the exception of convertibles). Child safety seats will have a lower set of attachments that fasten to the vehicle anchors. Most forward-facing child safety seats will also have a top strap (tether) that attaches to the top anchor in the vehicle.

[Papooses]

Consumer Reports has never released *how* they got that result & no one has ever been able to replicate it -- this combined with their last faulty testing fiasco tells me that it's just more incorrect information.... Seatbelt alone should provide a very safe install, but so should LATCH -- so long as it moves less than 1" it is safe.

We must not use both LATCH + seatbelt at the same time because:
1. it voids the manufacturer's liability
2. it could cause unforeseen stress upon the carseat leading to easily preventable injuries
3. it makes the child a real life crash test dummy
4. it may be illegal in your state (you could face child endangerment charges)

	LATCH LATCH stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren. It is a system mandated by the Federal government in an effort to standardize and simplify the installation of child restraints without using the vehicle's seat belt system. New vehicles and child safety seats manufactured on and after September 1, 2002 will be equipped with the LATCH system. Cars, minivans, and light trucks will be required to have anchor points between the vehicle's seat cushion and the seat back in at least two rear seating positions, and a top tether anchor (with the exception of convertibles). Child safety seats will have a lower set of attachments that fasten to the vehicle anchors. Most forward-facing child safety seats will also have a top strap (tether) that attaches to the top anchor in the vehicle.