Car seats are designed to save your baby's (or child's) life in the event of an accident, cradling their proportionately huge heads so they don't snap their weak little spines or crush their soft pelvic bones into their itty bitty internal organs. Yeah, they are important.
So along with making sure you've got it installed correctly, that you're using it correctly and age appropriately for your baby or older child, that it's not expired ... you also have to think about what happens to your car seat if you actually DO, god forbid, get into a car accident.
Even if your baby's not in the car, or your car isn't totalled, there are multiple things you need to consider, because a car seat that has done its job in an accident often will have damage that would prevent it from being safe in a second.
So how do you know if you need a new seat after an accident?
There's actually a pretty simple checklist.
- Was anyone hurt? If yes, you need a new car seat.
- Did the airbags deploy? If yes, you need a new car seat (though a 'no' doesn't mean you don't ... airbags only deploy under specific conditions, so a major accident can still occur without them deploying).
- Was the door next to the seat hit? If your seat was installed on the side, and the door it sits next to was hit, you need a new seat.
- Was the vehicle (or both, if more than one was involved) able to drive away from the accident? If so, you may not need a new seat, as the impact was likely to be minor.
- Can you see any damage to the seat? If the plastic looks whiter (if it's gray or black), if you can see any dents, scrapes, or itty bitty fractures (look like spiderwebs), you definitely need a new seat. But don't be fooled into thinking no visible damage means all is good -- damage to the seat can be invisible, or in a spot you can't see. There are x-rays that can detect micro-fractures, but honestly, they cost more than a new seat -- even the good ones.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration set these particular guidelines (which apply whether or not a child was IN the seat at the time of the accident). Multiple agencies have done tests on seats using sleds varying in speeds from 9 miles per hour, up to 40 miles per house, and then retested them to see if damaged seats had a higher likelihood of failing in a subsequent accident (they do). Very minor accidents (such as those tested at 9 miles per hour), which pass the above checklist, didn't show in any of the studies to damage seats (whew!), but if you're concerned, there is never harm in getting a new seat (some car seat manufacturers require it regardless of severity).
Lastly, if the accident wasn't your fault and you do need a new seat, the other person's car insurance company should pay you the cost to replace your seats. This might vary by state since there are varying types of insurance laws, but I have yet to hear of a state that didn't enforce this, so make sure you push for this!
Did you know these guidelines?
Image via Chris_Short/Flickr
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Comments 38
I would think it's safer that after any accident to just get a new car seat.
"damage to the seat can be invisible, or in a spot you can't see." This if anything would make me get a new one even after a small accident.
You should ALWAYS refer to the manual for the car seat, as to whether to replace it or not. You MUST go by what the manufactor states.
I didn't know the specific guidelines, but i've always gone by the "accident? replace!" I have unfortunately been in 3 relatively minor accidents in the last 3 years. 1 with my 6wk old daughter in the car, the other two with no children (other than in utero) thankfully. All the damage was under $4000 (new cars <GriN>) and no real injuries. I still replaced the seat every time. My company pays $160 per seat and I usually go though them and let them collect from the other agency. This time i'm glad I didn't because the other company called me before I could claim them with my company, and they paid FULL COST of 2 brand new britax seats. <GrIN> But it's that invisible damage that you just don't know. So rule of thumb, accident = replace.
I was just wondering about this myself. My husbands car was totalled the other day and the 2 carseats in the back were installed but the kids were not in the car at the time. He was rear ended so all the damage was to the back of the car. I was planning on submitting a claim to the womans insurance company and seeing what happens.
Jess, something similar happened to us. The car was hit from the front, and the seats were in the car, but no kids. Air bags did not delpoy, but the van was totaled. I was told my a car seat tech that they were fine to use, because the seat didn't have the weight of the kids in them.
I was just told by state farm that if I wanted to claim the carseats I would need the original receipts from purchase. I don't think i have them. I'm going to call my insurance company and ask them the same question.
Ashlee, the weight of the kids is likely negligible, unless you have a baby elephant. What are the credentials of the car seat tech? Did they work for the insurance company of the other driver? Are you going to depend on someone that may be reading from a manual? These are your children's lives. Ask the insurance company for new seats.
I did not know these guidelines.
My friend was in an accident, and she did not know about replacing the seats. I let her know. The other guy was at fault, and he had a SUPER CRAPPY insurance.. some really cheap one. Anyways, they only gave her $80 TOTAL!!! To replae to seats. Her children were in the car. They were each harnessed. One in a bucket seat. One in a harnessing booster. I could not believe it. They at-fault insurance even came out and inspected her seats and said they were just fine. I told her not to back down. I know it had nothing to do with SC laws either because my SIL recently got two brand new Frontier85's paid for by the at-fault person's insurance in an accident she was in.