Although not mandated by the U.S. government or any sort of federal law, expiration dates on car seats provide a threshold for parents to judge whether or not a car seat is still safe for their children to use. It doesn’t refer specifically to how the plastic used in car seats might degrade when subjected to standard use in vehicles. I’ve never read or heard of it them using a car seat for years and years. And even though they're made of materials that are designed to last for a very long time, nothing lasts forever! Older seats could have missing parts or owner’s manuals. However, most go from the date of manufacture. Rather, you should plan on replacing them at or around the expiration date. From technology and design updates to simple wear and tear, there are plenty of reasons from which to pick why it's time to trash the kid's car seats and buy new ones. Well, unless it’s very obviously an old seat and they are trained to look for it. That's an especially promising statistic bolstered further by researchers at the National Institutes of Health who concluded that effective use of a child restraint can cut down on fatal injuries by 70 to 80 percent. Note that is not the date of purchase; it could have sat on the store shelf for months or longer. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. If the regulations change, an older car seat may no longer be in compliance. "Why, back in my day, we rode home from the hospital on mom's lap while dad manned the three-on-the-tree, and there were no seatbelts, and we all survived. researcher May 23, 2016 Questions & Answers No Comments. 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. After all 3 out of 4 of all car seats are being used incorrectly and 93% of newborns are in their car seats with critical errors. Car seats expire because of plastic fatigue. Denver, CO 80209 2017 Chrysler Pacifica long-term road test. Innovations today in safety such as Britax's SafeCell impact protection, an integrated safety system that is claimed to test beyond federal standards, or ClickTight, which is an easy installation method that help ensure a tight, secure fit of the car seat, will help shape car seats in the future. Most seats used to expire after 5-6 years. Some car seat manufacturers also add a date of expiration on the sticker. I think the time frames are very reasonable. I have not. Car seat laws are there to make sure babies aren’t allowed to be in unsafe car seats and officers and courts don’t have to use best guess judgement to enforce the safety laws. After six or seven years, decide if you would trust that chair to keep your kids safe in your backyard? 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. In this case is using an expired seat better than not using a car seat at all? On the contrary, studies have been performed that show there is no noticeable difference in the effectiveness of a well maintained car seat beyond its expiration date. Nevertheless, it is a common practice to do so. Learn how to fix the most common car seat mistakes with this report. Sometimes the date is actually embossed on the shell of the car seat. Most of the time this is on a sticker, often on the back of the shell. 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. This shouldn’t surprise; after all, manufacturers release new models almost every year, and it would be unmanageable to keep an unlimited stock of replacement parts for all old models released. Car seats are subjected to extreme temperatures and lots of every-day wear and tear. The LATCH system didn't exist. We are able to take data from research and implement technology to better protect children. All rights reserved. For instance, for the first almost 10 years, RideSafer vests did not have an expiration date. They're not milk or fruit, in other words. Also, evolving government regulations set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and technological advances such as Britax's SafeCell technology can render older seats obsolete over time. This is when car seat best practice and reality may not fit. No, it’s for good reason. Why Do Car Seats Expire: Know Car Seats and Their Laws. Even if federal standards haven’t been updated, car seat manufacturers are always trying to improve safety and ease of use. But why do car seats expire? Youngster automobile seats are one of the vital vital baby gear you’ll purchase, and identical to different gears, like a crib or a stroller, these automobile. Sun exposure can also cause damage to plastics and synthetic fabrics often used in car seats. No matter how well you clean or repair something, it’ll never look the way it did when you bought it (and it shouldn’t if it did its job correctly). If you have links to studies from Sweden or otherwise, please do share. There's no single reason. However, NHTSA does recommend expiration dates due to the possible changes in regulations over time. Of course, the seats don't dissolve on the expiration date at the stroke of midnight. However, the expiration date is there for a reason. Let your kids jump in and out of them daily, and maybe even spill liquid on them for good measure (warm milk would be a nice touch). The main factor in car seat expiration is that materials degrade over time when exposed to extreme temperatures. Car seat manufacturers decide them based on the expected useful life of their product. Others just have a length of time from the date of manufacture. Another reason why car seats expire is that after a certain amount of time, the manufacturers stop producing replacement parts for the specific model. This could cause seatbelts to become elastic, meaning they’ll work less in your favor in the unfortunate event of a crash. ), is an outright lie, and furthermore, not very environmentally friendly. When you place your child’s car seat onto the base, the seat latches to the base. You may not publish, broadcast, rewrite or redistribute this material without permission. As time progresses, we learn things. This article discusses car seat expiration dates and why they should be taken seriously. Of course, there are quite a few factors that determine its durability. So why do car seats expire anyway? Search. One of the main reasons car seats expire is because over time, technology improves and car seat standards change. But in all likelihood a police officer isn’t going to remove your car seat to check the date of manufacturer. Think about it: Your car seat goes through a lot during its useful life. It doesn't matter how many times we hear it; it's still not true. Degrading plastic can interfere with the performance of a car seat. According to the IIHS, the number of infants killed in car crashes since 1975 has plummeted 80 percent, and the number of children under 3 killed in car crashes has similarly dropped by 66 percent. Through these extreme temperature changes the car seat sits and endures and these climate fluctuations—and time—take a toll on the plastics. Another reason for the expiration of car seats is the wear and tear of its materials. Though car seats don't go rancid the way food does, the components inside degrade over time, which can pose a serious safety hazard for your little one. You are welcome to link to Safe Ride 4 Kids or share on social media. “Most or all car-seat manufacturers have an expiration date,” said Chad Sparling, director of engineering for Recaro Child Safety. Think of a shirt you wear a lot. There is no government regulation that requires an expiration date on car seats in the United States. Car seat laws by state, What are Child Passenger Safety Technicians? The primary among them is the type of seat. Expiration dates are a way for manufacturers to provide consumers with guidance as to the expected “useful” life of their car seat.”. That's just a ploy by the manufacturers to get you to spend more money and buy new stuff.". 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. Watch Queue Queue. Thank you and welcome!You have been subscribed. As I also mentioned in the article it may be a tactic to avoid liability in case the materials degrade. Consider the above, then decide if scraping a few hundred dollars (and that's if you buy a top-of-the-line car seat) is worth it when discussing your kid's safety. Both of those declines are despite a 5-percent increase in the number of children riding in cars over the same time period. From technology and design updates to simple wear and tear, there are plenty of … That includes throwing out what seems like a perfectly good car seat. Your child sits in the seat hundreds of times, plus the temperatures inside our cars vary greatly with the seasons (from cold to hot and back again). Car seats are made from petroleum-based plastics. Most car seats expire after 6 to 7 years from the date of manufacturer. Look at Sweden, for example, where car seats are used for many, many years, and they have one of the lowest child car accident death rates in the world.
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