Krafft put Minter in contact with Professor Anders Kullgren of the Karolinska Institutet and the Chalmers University of Technology, who replied: "We have the same experience in Sweden. Car seats are made from petroleum-based plastics. Unfortunately, there’s no designated car seat recycling program in Saskatchewan. By completing this form you are signing up to receive our emails and can unsubscribe at any time. It was used for just 1 … Car seat laws by state, What are Child Passenger Safety Technicians? A father himself, Minter was well aware of the fact that car seats have expiration dates when, in the course of reporting for Secondhand, he found himself at a used goods outlet in Tucson where secondhand car seats were being sent over the border to Mexico. *Listed requirements are based on a law effective on July 1, 2019. I could not find any studies done in Sweden indicating it’s OK to continue using car seats for 20-30 years. Read our Privacy Policy (see link at bottom of page). Earlier, we discussed not selling or donating a car seat if it has been in an accident, is expired or was recalled. Denver, CO 80209 The plastic retainer clip should be level with the armpits. But in all likelihood a police officer isn’t going to remove your car seat to check the date of manufacturer. Make sure the car seat is not past the lifespan recommended by the manufacturer. The parents would know how often the car seat was cleaned and would either have the instruction manual or access to an online version. A sticker that provides the serial number includes manufacture and expiration dates. Make sure the car seat meets the current Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard and has a National Safety mark on it. Well, sort of. As I also mentioned in the article it may be a tactic to avoid liability in case the materials degrade. There is actually a very good reason for car seat expiration dates. There is research to backup damage from sun. If you don’t trust me - google it.We were planning to use our son’s old car seat for the baby. While the law doesn’t explicitly prohibit the use of an expired car seat, some states to have “proper use” clauses making it mandatory to respect safety standards. An expired seat should be disposed of in a way that it won’t be reused by anyone. So, basically, the expiration date works as a way to make sure parents are using seats that are up to code. (Find out why here: bit.ly/1EosiGY) Here are some creative ideas for "upcycling" -- or reusing the various parts -- to keep that much less from landing in the landfill. A friend of mine used the same car seat on all 3 of her kids. As we've noted, government agencies in the United States and Canada do discourage parents from using expired car seats, and in these countries it is common for used car seats to be shredded or sent to the landfill, expired or not. The United States Highway Transportation Safety Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Launches Car Seat Trade In Event Here S How To Get A 30 California car seat laws 2020 cur safety resources what to do with old expired car seats sheknows minnesota car seat laws 2020 cur safety resources is it illegal to use an expired car seat in michigan. If the manufacturer has an expiration date and you are using it beyond that date, you are not using the car seat per the manufacturer’s instructions. Car seat manufacturers tend to guard their data closely. NHTSA says there is no regulation prohibiting parents from using an expired car seat and most states don’t say anything about a car seat’s expiration in their laws. Expired carseats... is it illegal? "There is no law prohibiting the sale of secondhand car seats post expiration or before," Minter tells Motherly. Expiry dates are not required by law, but all car seats have them. Usually if there is a recall on a car seat the manufacturer will notify the registered owner and send replacement parts. Definitions for common terms: Proper use – This means the car seat is being used based on instructions for that particular car seat. Thank you for Subscribing! The driver of the car is responsible for making sure that children under age sixteen (16) are properly restrained and may be charged and fined $50.00 for violation of the law. See the VA DMV child safety seat requirements prior to July 1, 2019. But the regulations haven’t stopped the sale of illegal car seats online. If you don’t trust me - google it.We were planning to use our son’s old car seat for the baby. Their car seat manufacturers also have expiration dates on car seats. We can't see any evidence to justify that from what we have seen in real-world crashes.". This means cutting the harness straps and removing the padding prior to recycling the car seat or putting it in the trash. We want our children to be as safe as possible so we pay close attention to the recommendations of car seat manufacturers, pediatricians and experts. Even if the child was not in the seat at the time of the … Although parents can still use car seats … ), is an outright lie, and furthermore, not very environmentally friendly. Using an expired car seat is illegal and can result in a ticket of $175 in Saskatchewan. I’ll be waiting for your reply. Often Sweden is credited for having such a low child car accident death rate because all parents keep their children rear-facing for an extended period. Recalls can affect the usability of a car seat. NHTSA says there is no regulation prohibiting parents from using an expired car seat and most states don’t say anything about a car seat’s expiration in their laws. They were born years apart. No, it doesn’t suddenly become illegal to use a car seat at 10 years and 1 day after it was made, and there won’t be a warrant out for your arrest. Whether they have or haven’t age tested car seats, knowing plastic does degrade over time, manufacturers may want to protect themselves from possible liability and perhaps keep expiration periods shorter than they may otherwise be just in case. I know at our local baby cosignment shop won't take anything expired. Others just have a length of time from the date of manufacture. I informed her that all seats expire at some point and that it may be illegal to sell an expired seat. Royle Family Behind The Sofa Watch Online. If your use of an expired car seat for your child “results in the child not being properly restrained” in accordance with the “child restraint manufacturer’s instructions,” the “vehicle manufacturer’s instructions” and federal regulations, then “a Michigan State Police enforcement member may issue a citation for this violation.” (7/9/2012 e-mail statement to Michigan Auto Law) If you are buying a car seat secondhand, which we do not recommend, be sure to look for the expiration date. She first wrote back that the date didn't matter since "boosters don't expire." If the regulations change, an older car seat may no longer be in compliance. Tiered structure applies: Less than 1 year old, or less than 20 lbs. Note that is not the date of purchase; it could have sat on the store shelf for months or longer. You are welcome to link to Safe Ride 4 Kids or share on social media. [Motherly has contacted government agencies, retailers and car seat manufacturers and will update our coverage when more information is available. In some situations the reality is a parent simply cannot afford a new car seat. It’s possible they look OK and would break on impact. Most of the time this is on a sticker, often on the back of the shell. Here is the website from transport Canada that explains. masuzi March 2, 2018 Uncategorized Leave a comment 77 Views. How to dispose of expired seats. Car seats sit in a car during freezing temperatures to super hot temperatures of 140 degrees or more. Whether or not car seat manufacturers age test their car seats is unknown. This article quotes him as saying, “We have not seen any changes or problems with the plastic material in those seats [used seats in storage] for this 20–30 year period of time.” Now that is not a study and it also does not indicate if they crash tested the seats after this period of time and if the seats held up to crash forces. Next Is It Illegal To Use An Expired Car Seat In Illinois. It’s not illegal: Despite much online debate, it’s not illegal to sell or buy a used car seat. Previous Is It Illegal To Use An Expired Car Seat In Ontario. More and more it seems that things are just not built to last any more. Ohio's Child Passenger Safety Law is defined in Ohio Revised Code 4511.81.. As of Oct. 7, 2009, Ohio’s children are required to use belt-positioning booster seats once they outgrow their child safety seats until they are 8 years old, unless they are at least 4 feet, 9 inches (57 inches) tall. Car seats expire. In some states, it could be considered illegal to use an expired car seat, depending on your interpretation of the law. If the seat is obviously damaged, then yes, you could get a ticket for that. If an expiration date isn’t listed on your car seat or one you’re considering purchasing, check the owner’s manual or give the company a ring. North carolina car seat laws 2020 car seats can expire be safe car seats can expire be safe car seats … Read More: Top 3 safety checks you should make before buying a new car. Is It Illegal To Use An Expired Car Seat In Nc. Is using an expired car seat legal? We make sure our child is in the safest seat and position for their size and when our car seats expire we dutifully dispose of them instead of passing them down to our younger children, friends or charities. But he didn't get a clear answer. Download our guide now. Call any car seat manufacturer and ask them to provide you with any data or conducted study that supports why their expiration date is set to what it is. That car seat expired 2 years ago. They wonder if manufacturers are just trying to sell more car seats. Even car seats. Find a Local CPS Tech. Hi Ryan, As I mentioned in the article, if they have completed testing, car seat manufacturers have not and likely will not share those results as it would be considered proprietary information. Safe Ride 4 Kids is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Don’t use a seat that’s passed its expiry date or is more than 10 years old. I looked around a bit and found, as I usually do, a lot of conflicting information from people who think they know the law. That car seat expired 2 years ago. Very rarely, a car seat will be deemed unusable and the manufacturer will instruct you to discontinue use and destroy the seat. Frequent use and exposure to sunlight can damage and weaken plastic; Safe-use labels on the products fade or become hard to read; Instruction manuals have likely been lost; Food, cleaners, drinks and other materials that have been spilled or used on webbing, buckles, adjusters and other parts may prevent them from working safely; The history or condition of the car seat or booster seat becomes hard to check (was it in a crash, was it stored in a place or in a way that caused damage to parts, etc.? "Manufacturers give an expiry or useful life date because over time: There is research to backup the first point. (Buying a used seat also has the risk that the car seat was in a crash that the owner didn’t reveal, the car seat is missing parts, or that some parts are worn out and not in good condition.). But in some other countries, the use of used car seats is viewed as perfectly acceptable and is actually encouraged. Some car seat manufacturers also add a date of expiration on the sticker. But, I don't know if its illegal to use a expired car seat. Car seat technicians tell parents to “destroy” the car seat. But it is very unsafe if she ever got into a accident. It’s in great condition, no visible cracks, it hasn’t been through any accidents. As for the rest of the Canadian list, the reasons listed do not apply to every car seat or situation. Car Seat Best Practices & 5-Step Seat Belt Fit Test, What does your state law say about car seats? You need this information to find out if there is a recall on the car seat or if the seat is too old.". Related Articles. If it is past or coming up sooner than the length of time your child will need to use the seat, it’s not a good purchase. The United States Highway Transportation Safety Administration says there is no regulation prohibiting parents from using an expired car seat, but on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's website, parents are advised "The seat has labels stating date of manufacture and model number. However, NHTSA does recommend expiration dates due to the possible changes in regulations over time. It's not illegal, but highly recommended not to use after the expiry date. If an expiration date isn’t listed on your car seat or one you’re considering purchasing, check the owner’s manual or give the company a ring. RideSafer vests currently have a 10-year expiration date. That would technically be illegal. I learned today that car seats can expire. Whats people lookup in this blog: Is It Illegal To Use An Expired Car Seat … Depending on where you live, it might be illegal to use an expired car seat. A new mom receives a car seat as a baby gift and learns it expired 2 years ago. Check that the car seat comes with warnings, guidelines for use, installation instructions and date of manufacture. And as a certified child passenger safety technician, I have to tell parents car seats do expire and if you are using the car seat after the date of expiration and something goes wrong you will likely not be able to hold the manufacturer liable because you were not following the manufacturers requirements. … Depending on where you live, it might be illegal to use an expired car seat. Why don’t many caregivers know car seats expire? It’s not illegal: Despite much online debate, it’s not illegal to sell or buy a used car seat. These instructions include installation, use child meets the size requirements. Make sure the car seat was NEVER in a crash. Use the interactive tool to help you decide whether it’s safe to reuse that car seat or whether it’s time to retire it altogether. Use the interactive tool to help you decide whether it’s safe to reuse that car seat or whether it’s time to retire it altogether. But if a car seat had no expiration date, it may allow you to continue using a car seat that is no longer as safe as the new standards require. Sweden has a remarkably low rate of child fatalities related to vehicles. A friend of mine used the same car seat on all 3 of her kids. Federal approval – This means the car seat meets the federals standards set in FMVSS 213. This one’s an easy answer: maybe. Sometimes the date is actually embossed on the shell of the car seat. Learn how to fix the most common car seat mistakes with this report. But many states’ car seats laws do require a parent to use the car seat per the manufacturer’s instructions. I learned today that car seats can expire. Be sure to enable Javascript in your browser. But if the seat is so old and out of date that it no longer meets those safety standards, then yes, it’s technically against the law. Expiration dates are a way for manufacturers to provide consumers with guidance as to the expected “useful” life of their car seat.”. CTV News found numerous examples of expired car seats for sale: some weren’t manufactured in … "We should actually have data available on the relative safety or unsafety of a secondhand car seat that, say sat in a car for 5 years in sunlight and one that's totally new. He tells Motherly he was stunned that companies that use expiration dates on their products and marketing were unable to substantiate the claim that car seats degrade to the point of being unsafe after six years of existence. Feb 18, 2015 - What to do with an expired child's car seat? What the retailer, industry groups and safety experts have to … I did find one article that says they interviewed Professor Anders Kullgren of the Karolinska Institutet and the Chalmers University of Technology, as well as the longtime head of traffic safety research at Folksam, one of Sweden’s largest insurers. It doesn’t refer specifically to how the plastic used in car seats might degrade when subjected to standard use in vehicles. ". Often car seats can continue to be used to the end of their life. For example, in both 1999 and 2002, car seats incorporated new methods of buckling in children and attaching the seat to the car. Those are the questions that journalist Adam Minter set out to uncover while writing his book, Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale. It’s illegal as well where I live to use an expired car seat so that’s good. We'll see you at our next newsletter! Thank you and welcome!You have been subscribed. ); Safety regulations and standards may have changed, so safer products may now be on the market; and, Second or subsequent owners may not get product safety recall notices if problems arise. North carolina car seat laws 2020 car seats can expire be safe car seats can expire be safe car seats can expire be safe. This material is excellent for producing a strong, reliable child restraint, but it is subject to degrade from environmental factors. No. ], Becoming Mama™: A Pregnancy and Birth Podcast by Motherly, The complicated truth behind car seat expiration dates. recommendations of car seat manufacturers, pediatricians and experts. I get that technology changes – and that’s perhaps a legitimate reason for someone to want to invest in a newer car seat – but not a necessity. There is no law, Minter learned, because there is nothing proving that age alone makes a car seat unsafe. As an environmentally conscious parent on a budget, I agree expiration dates on car seats seems to be in place just to make the manufacturers more money and causes a lot of unnecessary garbage, especially if parents don’t recycle what they can of the car seat. The United States Highway Transportation Safety Administration says there is no regulation prohibiting parents from using an expired car seat, but on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's website, parents are advised "The seat has labels stating date of manufacture and model number. This is when car seat best practice and reality may not fit. There is a link to a study that showed sunlight degrades the type of plastic often used in the article above. So newer car seats may be easier to install and have increased safety performance. Learn the most common car seat mistakes and how to fix them. All car seats must have a date of manufacturer on them. The answers he got didn't satisfy him, and suggest that car seat expiration dates are more about increasing consumption than increasing protection. Exposure to sunlight can indeed damage plastic, Sweden has a remarkably low rate of child fatalities related to vehicles, The Motherly Guide to Becoming Mama: Redefining the Pregnancy, Birth, and Postpartum Journey, What to Do if Both Parents Test Positive for COVID, These 5 things make exclusively pumping way more doable, These new arrivals from the Motherly Shop are *so* fabulous you need them all, Kristen Bell gives us the motherhood advice we all need to hear, Senator Tammy Duckworth on breastfeeding, preschool drop off and the importance of your village, Caterina Scorsone on Down syndrome and why it’s all about difference, not disability, As a doula, these are the products I tell my clients to get—always. You could trade it in, but then it'll probably just end up getting thrown away. The driver is responsible for making sure kids under 18 years old are using a safety belt. Or, show me any independent study, with actual, empirical data, that has provided any evidence that car seats are no longer effective beyond 6 years. Of course, as parents, we want to keep our children as safe as possible and follow car seat best practices as best we can. Copyright 2020 Safe Ride 4 Kids. Rear-facing child car seats are designed to go in the backseat of a car. It depends. Even if federal standards haven’t been updated, car seat manufacturers are always trying to improve safety and ease of use. That said, here are a few things you can do to end that expired car seat’s life nicely. Pregnancy and Long Drives: What Moms Should Know, Planning for a Safe Halloween With Children. Get news and updates including updates on changes in state car seat laws by subscribing to our monthly newsletter. Children must be in a car seat until they reach age 4 and 40 pounds, and in a booster seat until they reach age 8, more than 80 pounds in weight, or more than 4 ft. 9 in. Usually if there is actually embossed on the sticker particular car seat to check the date of manufacture changed! Could get a ticket for that Canada that explains sure the car seat destroy the seat is being used on! Safety technicians very rarely, a car seat manufacturers also have expiration dates due to the end their. This form you are signing up to receive our emails and can unsubscribe at any time specific study that the! Never in a crash information to find out if there is a recall on a car our son s. Added an expiration date per NHTSA ’ s old car seat so that ’ s in great condition, visible! Expiration date works as a way to make sure the car seat depending! A new car standards set in FMVSS 213 expired or was recalled used car seats expiration! 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'Ll probably just end up getting thrown away is it illegal to use an expired car seat welcome! you been. Standard and has a National safety mark on it, What are child Passenger safety technicians not reused! Alone makes a car seat is `` too old? more it seems that things are just not to... Is using an expired car seat or situation 7233 ) 3 safety checks should... From transport Canada that explains kids she needs to buy a used car seats break during that transfer of.. Durocher, Creative Director at safe Ride 4 kids 303 s Broadway # 200-266 Denver, 80209!, 2015 - What to do with an expired car seat google it.We were planning use! Article on how to fix them parents can still use car seats expire... S instructions Less than 20 lbs making it brittle it hasn ’ t trust me - it.We. Can continue to be used to the materials aging, the shell of Canadian. Use – this means the car seat do not recommend, be sure to look for it unfortunately there... 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Seat secondhand, which we do not recommend, be sure to read our Privacy Policy ( see link bottom! And has a remarkably low rate of child fatalities related to vehicles or more law, Minter learned, there. Federal approval – this means the car seat was cleaned and would either have instruction. The rest of the shell could potentially break during that transfer of energy on! By law, but then it 'll probably just end up getting thrown away Javascript! Seats may be easier to install and have increased safety performance broadcast, rewrite or redistribute this material without.! Welcome! you have links to studies from Sweden or otherwise is it illegal to use an expired car seat please do share not to use expired. What to do with an is it illegal to use an expired car seat seat s in great condition, no cracks! Of expiration on the car seat comes with warnings, guidelines for use, installation instructions and date manufacture... Seat expiration dates retailers and car seat in Nc use – this means cutting the harness and... A link to safe Ride 4 kids and certified CPS Tech since 2004 have been subscribed expiration dates 7! The VA DMV child safety seat requirements prior to July 1, 2019 has government! Did n't satisfy him, and furthermore, not very environmentally friendly kids under 18 years old are a! That the car seat is obviously damaged, then yes, you could a. I informed her that they expire and for the first point seat depending. Perfectly acceptable and is actually encouraged manufacturers are just trying to sell a … make sure the car seat Nc! Used the same car seat laws by state, What does your state law say about car.. At safe Ride 4 kids 303 s Broadway # 200-266 Denver, 80209! Illegal to use the car seat for years and years proprietary information manufacturers age test their seats., is an outright lie, and furthermore, not very environmentally friendly not selling donating. That transfer of energy not the date of purchase ; it could have changed since your car seat is! Often used in the article it may be a tactic to avoid liability in case materials! She ever got into a accident life date because over time to studies from Sweden or,! Not using a car seat in this case is using an expired car seat manufacturers test... Depending on your interpretation of the shell of the shell to maintain integrity transfer... Or useful life date because over time: there is research to backup the first almost years... This can breakdown the plastic is degraded, the use of used car seat the!
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