After a Crash

Can I keep using my car seat after a car crash?

probably not. crash forces are extreme point ; they ’ ra potent enough to bend the steel frame of the cable car, and can well damage a car seat besides. even though you may not be able to see the damage, the plastic in the car seat could be weakened by these crash forces and may not protect the child properly in a 2nd crash .

But my child wasn’t in the seat, do I still need to replace it?

YES. The car seat will hush take some of the crash forces flush when a child is not in the seat. therefore, if the manufacturer says to replace the seat, it should be replaced regardless of whether the child was or was not in the seat .

Someone tapped my bumper in the parking lot… do I still need to replace the car seat?

minor taps in a parking batch – which typically don ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate even damage the flimsy bumper of the car – are probably not going to damage the car seat either .

If you need to replace your car seat, remember:

many indemnity companies will reimburse you for the modern seats. You will probably need to buy the modern seat, and then show them the receipt for the new seat in order to get reimbursed.

If the policy company has “ worry remembering ” that they ’ re supposed to cover the surrogate of the car seats, show them the teaching manual to your child ’ sulfur car seat where it states that the buttocks should not be re-used after a crash. If you don ’ t have the direction manual, you can normally download one on-line or call the company and have them email you one. If they still have perturb remember, ask them to put in writing that they are advising you to continue using the car seat despite the car seat manufacturer stating it should not be used again .
You are not required to replace the crash car seat with the same demand model. For example, if your child was barely about to outgrow his baby seat, you could replace the crash baby seat with a convertible seat .

Can I recycle the car seat?

Depending on where you live, recycling the car seat may be equally childlike as putting it out with the rest of your curbside recycling. See here to learn more about ways to recycle a car seat. If there is fabric recycling at your local farmer ’ second market, they may accept the fabric cover. Others have repurposed the covers as dog/cat beds and the straps for carrying firewood.

If you have a Clek car seat or booster, they have a recycling program where you can mail your seat back to them for $ 40 ( covers shipping ) and receive a $ 40 coupon towards the purchase of anything on Clek ’ second on-line store .
Another way to keep the seat out of the landfill is to see if your local SAFE KIDS coalescence may be able to use the seat for train purposes.

If recycling is not an option, make surely to take the seat apart in a manner that no one will pick it up out of the pan and try to re-use it. Remove all the fabric, foam, and straps – and throw them away individually. Using a permanent marker, write on the fictile shell of the car seat “ NOT SAFE. DO NOT USE ” .

What do the car seat manufacturers say?

merely a handful of manufacturers allow you to reuse the seat after a crash, and, among those that allow recycle, there are caveats. We ’ ve made a chart to help you figure out whether or not you need a newly buttocks. The data in this graph is taken immediately from the car seat instruction manuals. If you still have questions, call the manufacturer before reusing the car seat. When in doubt, do not reuse your car seat after a crash.

Manufacturers’ Requirements After a Crash:

If you are a CPS Technician or Instructor and would like to print a PDF of this graph to have at seat checks, pawl here.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *