Car seat replacement?

[Carter'sMom]

I've heard that you should replace a car seat after it's been in a car accident...even if it's not severe. That said, I'm wondering how a minor accident could possibly be any more damaging than being banged around when checked at the airport. We're getting ready to fly out tomorrow morning (hopefully someone can give their input before then). My son is just barely under the weight and height limits for his Graco Snugride, but has recently been upgraded to the Britax Decathlon. The snugride has some marks on it (particularly one area on the arm where the plastic was cut into) and I'm wondering if we'd be better off bringing that for the week than risking unknown damage occurring to the Britax. Am I being ridiculous thinking the airlines could damage the seat (they damage my luggage) or have I never heard anything about this theory because people HAVE to bring their car seats? I'm thinking next time we'll just purchase a ticket for my son so we can take the seat on board, but it's too late for that this time. TIA

	Britax - Click for more info Britax International has been producing reliable child safety products for over 30 years. Not only does Britax have decades of experience creating car seats and other children's safety equipment, Britax has a long standing reputation as an industry leader and innovator. Britax International is headquartered in the United Kingdom, but Britax car seats are designed and manufactured at facilities in Germany, Austria, and the United States. In the summer of 2002, Britax strengthened their commitment to creating the safest car seats with the opening of a brand new, state-of-the-art crash testing facility in North Carolina. Britax car seats have a reputation around the world for being some of the safest, most reliable, and best designed child safety seats ever made.

	Britax Decathlon - Click for more info Like its predecessors the Britax Roundabout and the Britax Marathon, the Britax Decathlon is built around two core ideals: safety and comfort. Its easy to see that the Decathlon is comfortable: it's loaded with a 3-position crotch strap, patented HUGS harness system, plush (and washable!) seat cover, belly pad, removable toddler head pillow, and an infant positioning system for newborn babies. These features provide a comfortable, adjustable fit as your child grows - all the way from 5 to 65 pounds.

	Graco SnugRide - Click for more info The Graco SnugRide with EPS infant car seat is a highly popular and top-rated infant car seat that provides first-rate transportation safety for your baby, plus convenient mobility options for you. Even with its relatively low price, the Graco SnugRide with EPS receives unmatched praise for its safety by leading consumer magazines and websites.

	Graco - Click for more info Graco is one of the world's best known and most trusted juvenile products companies. They started the entire juvenile products industry with an invention called the Graco Swyngomatic. Since then they have invented products that have changed the way that parents travel with their children such as the travel system, which has made it so parents can lock an infant car seat into a stroller easily, without waking their sleeping baby. Their Graco SnugRide Infant Car Seat is pretty much synonymous with the term “infant car seat” because of its safety and design features coupled with its affordability. Today Graco continues designing and developing top-quality products that inspire parents and keeps children safe. Check out the new Infant Safe Seat Step 1 and Toddler Safe Seat Step 2 for proof of Graco’s continued commitment to child safety.

[scatterbunny]

NHTSA has this to say:

NHTSA Position
NHTSA recommends that child safety seats be replaced following a moderate or severe crash in order to ensure a continued high level of crash protection for child passengers.

NHTSA recommends that child safety seats do not automatically need to be replaced following a minor crash.

Minor crashes are those that meet ALL of the following criteria:

The vehicle was able to be driven away from the crash site;

The vehicle door nearest the safety seat was undamaged;

There were no injuries to any of the vehicle occupants;

The air bags (if present) did not deploy; AND

There is no visible damage to the safety seat

Clarifying the need for child seat replacement will reduce the number of children unnecessarily riding without a child safety seat while a replacement seat is being acquired, and the number of children who will have to ride without a child seat if a seat were discarded and not replaced. The clarification will also reduce the financial burden of unnecessary replacement.

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/inju...raintReUse.htm

However, it needs to be noted that one should always follow the recommendations of the carseat manufacturer, first and foremost. Sometimes they will say the seat needs to be replaced, regardless.

Britax follows what NHTSA says (from the Britax website FAQ section, under General Questions):

What should I do with my child restraint that’s been involved in a crash?

Britax recommends that use of a child restraint be discontinued if it has been in a severe crash. We further advise of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) position that it is not necessary to replace a child restraint after a minor crash. A minor crash is one that meets ALL of following criteria:

The vehicle was able to be driven away from the crash site;

The vehicle door nearest the child restraint was undamaged;

There were no injuries to any of the vehicle occupants;

The air bags (if present) did not deploy; AND

There is no visible damage to the child restraint.

If your Britax child restraint has been involved in a severe crash, it may be eligible for consideration for a new one of the same or similar design. See the Voluntary Crashed Restraint Exchange section of our website for more details.

Checking a seat can, indeed, invite it to be damaged, though it's hard to say if it's "enough" damage to really hurt it. If NHTSA and Britax think a minor/moderate crash that meets all of the above criteria won't hurt a seat, I would think they'd say a seat being checked by an airline couldn't posibly get damaged "enough" to hurt it. I don't know if I believe that, but that's my own opinion.

In the three years that I've been into child passenger safety I've always heard techs recommend you buy a seat for the child and use the carseat on the plane, not only so you can be sure the carseat is not damaged but so your child is safer on the plane.

	Britax - Click for more info Britax International has been producing reliable child safety products for over 30 years. Not only does Britax have decades of experience creating car seats and other children's safety equipment, Britax has a long standing reputation as an industry leader and innovator. Britax International is headquartered in the United Kingdom, but Britax car seats are designed and manufactured at facilities in Germany, Austria, and the United States. In the summer of 2002, Britax strengthened their commitment to creating the safest car seats with the opening of a brand new, state-of-the-art crash testing facility in North Carolina. Britax car seats have a reputation around the world for being some of the safest, most reliable, and best designed child safety seats ever made.

[XmasEve]

As a poster who's only qualification is being a parent, I wanted to add my 2 cents. I have never flown w/out my carseats getting slight to moderate damage. The airlines care not for your seats, and will treat them as such.

Carry them on whenever possible. If checking, try to check them at the counter, in safe wrapping. If you have to gate check them, put them in some sort of secure bag. And I did finally resort to buying bottom-of-the-line-but-still-very-safe Graco seats, to save damage to my $$$ Britaxes, and because Britaxes are so darn heavy! The kids are fine in those, though by the end of the vacation they are happy to get back to "their big blue seats!"

Hope that helps, and if not, please disregard. Safe travels!

	Graco - Click for more info Graco is one of the world's best known and most trusted juvenile products companies. They started the entire juvenile products industry with an invention called the Graco Swyngomatic. Since then they have invented products that have changed the way that parents travel with their children such as the travel system, which has made it so parents can lock an infant car seat into a stroller easily, without waking their sleeping baby. Their Graco SnugRide Infant Car Seat is pretty much synonymous with the term “infant car seat” because of its safety and design features coupled with its affordability. Today Graco continues designing and developing top-quality products that inspire parents and keeps children safe. Check out the new Infant Safe Seat Step 1 and Toddler Safe Seat Step 2 for proof of Graco’s continued commitment to child safety.