why can't you secure car seat with both LATCH and seatbelt

[agundla]

I am just wondering why. Wouldn't securing with both provide another layer of protection? My DD#1 is 5 1/2 years old, 40 lbs (barely soaking wet) and 47 inches tall. She is in a Britax Regent currently secured with LATCH in our 2006 Toyota Sienna. Yet I know that I will have to change that to the seat belt system at 48 lbs. Wouldn't using both (provided a tight fit could be obtained using both) be an insurance policy in case the seat belt failed? I am just trying to figure it out. Can anybody explain the need for the short belt path vs. long belt path on Regents? It seems that the short belt path offers less security but is mandated at the higher weights. Again, I am just trying to figure out the rationale.

Thanks!

April

	Britax car seats 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. Ready to buy a Britax seat? Please support our sponsor!

	Britax Regent - Click for more info The Britax Regent is the safe way to carry your older and larger passengers, all the way up to 80 lbs. Known as the "king of all car seats," the Britax Regent will accomodate your little king or queen for far longer than traditional car seats or booster seats. The Regent features a large roto-molded shell, comfy extra-thick comfort foam, washable covers, Patented Versa-Tether™, flexible buckle LATCH system, patented HUGS™ system, and tangle-free polyester 5-point harness. Ready to buy a Britax Regent? Please support our sponsor!

	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.

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[MnMadhouse]

The reason is that both systems do the same thing...the seatbelt and the latch system are both tested to sustain over 5000lbs of crash force. The reason they put a weight limit on the LATCH system is b/c it is essentially just a bar that is welded to the frame of the vehicle. When the seat is crash tested, they only use one or the other system...never both at the same time. Putting both systems on the seat could cause too much strain on the carseat and possible cause the seat to break in a crash. So even having a 'back up', the entire seat could break and fail..then either the seatbelt nor the latch system would help.

As for the Regents--the weight of the seat and the weight of the child combined, the seatbelt needs to be allowed to stretch properly in a crash. Britax found that the seat, with a child up to 40lbs, performed best and exceeded minimum standards using the long belt path. Then for children 40-80lbs, the seat performed best using the short belt path.

You can definitely tell a huge difference in the seatbelt length/strength from the long belt path to the short belt path. I will admit that when they changed this..I believe it was 2007 (??? prior to that it was use either install method)...I wasn't happy. I felt that the short belt install didn't give that tight, secure install that I was able to get easily with the long belt install. But after understanding what occurs during a crash and the way that the seatbelt need to stretch in order to ride with the child and slow the child down in a crash, I can see why they did change it.

HTH!

	Britax car seats 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. Ready to buy a Britax seat? Please support our sponsor!

	Britax Regent - Click for more info The Britax Regent is the safe way to carry your older and larger passengers, all the way up to 80 lbs. Known as the "king of all car seats," the Britax Regent will accomodate your little king or queen for far longer than traditional car seats or booster seats. The Regent features a large roto-molded shell, comfy extra-thick comfort foam, washable covers, Patented Versa-Tether™, flexible buckle LATCH system, patented HUGS™ system, and tangle-free polyester 5-point harness. Ready to buy a Britax Regent? Please support our sponsor!

	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.