Car seat laws and seatbelts?

carezra

When using a car seat you can use the lap belt to secure the seat into the car. The shoulder belt part isn't used to secure the seat in. Those extra straps are "tethers" for newer vehicles that use a LATCH system.

Please be sure that your car seat is secure in the vehicle! It should be snug, and level. Also, NEVER EVER ride with the car seat handle in the upright position. I know that it is tempting with all of the toys that are made for car seats these days and with the sun canopies! You see a lot of people who do this too. BUT it keeps the car seat from performing properly in a crash! Best of luck with your new baby!!

2cutekiddos

Your car is perfectly okay to install a carseat in. You cannot have a BOOSTER seat in your car b/c you cannot have a child in a lap belt only and a booster seat but you don't have to worry about that for several years.

Depending on what type of seatbelt you have (I'm talking about the latchplate which is what goes into your buckle belt stalk) depends on if you would need to use your locking clip or not.

All carseats come with the LATCH system which is in cars 2003 and up. Since you do not have that, you just remove the straps from the belt path.

I would HIGHLY suggest locating a Child Passenger Safety Technician in your area. http://www.seatcheck.org. If there is not one located in your area, call your local law enforcement or fire department. CPSTs are specially trained in the knowledge of seatbelts AND carseats.

http://www.aap.org/family/carseatguide.htm
http://www.carseatsmadesimple.org/install.cfm?FSID=262
http://parents.berkeley.edu/recommend/where2buy/carseats/lapbelt.html
http://www.car-safety.org/basics.html
http://www.car-safety.org/faq.html

hot2trot

The infant car seats that I used only required a lap belt...if you use the shoulder/lap it still inserted into the same area as a lap belt, and both straps went into it...so I bet your ok with the lap belt. The main thing is to get your baby buckled into the CARSEAT correctly. the seatbelt just holds the carseat in place. Maybe you should call the 1-800 number on the bottom of the carseat just to be sure.

Just Me

Stop by the local police dept & ask them for assistance. They would (should) be more than happy to show you.

angelmomma

Infant seats and forward facing seats can be installed using the lap belt only version. However there are no booster seats for lap belt only seats so when it comes time to buy a forward facing seat I would recommend buying a britax where the harness goes to 60 lbs instead of another brand because their harnesses only go to 40 lbs since there are no boosters designed to be used with lap only seat belts.

janeannpat

A lap belt is all that you use to hook your car seat into the car. The child has a harness in the seat so you don't need to worry about it. There should be some bolts under the seat to really buckle the car seat into as well.

proud nerd

Most car seats have instructions for installing it with several types of belts. I have a graco for my little girl, and it did. Look through the instructions to see if it has something like that. If not, call the customer service line and ask them.

Jessica M

Just a lap belt is fine.those other straps are for the LATCH system that had to be in newer cars.

steve s

IF you have not already bought your car seat, you may want to consider the means of locking the car seat into the car when selecting the seat. If you already have the car seat, remember that while the baby is very young, you need to have him/her facing towards the rear of the car when seated. Hospitals, fire stations and police departments often have either full time or advanced scheduled support available for securing the car seat. Practice before the baby comes. Your delivery will be a little bit easier because you won't be worried about the ride home.
If you are having a hospital delivery, most hospitals won't let you drive away until they've confirmed the baby seat is properly secured in your vehicle. (My youngest is 13, so I am not up to speed on the 'latest' car seats - what others have written about the older models is accurate -they all operate as if the seat belt was lap only.

The lap belt will be great when your child can fit in a booster seat as for the car seat, the belt goes through a tunnel in the back of the booster seat if you have the right one so just take the lap belt and pull it through that.

Injam

You should be able to use the lap belt to secure the baby seat. You know most of the people that are alive today did not ride in a baby seat when growing up. They do make it safer but I for one do not think it should be a law.

Jimithy â„¢

Sounds like you need a new truck.

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