All the unknowns .......
 

Hi all

Whilst out in my car this afternoon, I was stopped by the local RCMP (Police) who were doing a vehicle spot check on licence plates and seatbelts.

My 2 year old was safely strapped in the back of the car in his UK car seat that we brought over with us.

The officer asked me where the "tether" was that anchors the seat.????
I had no idea what she was talking about. Apparently by Canadian law all infant safety seats have to have a tether strap that comes from the rear of the safety seat and fastens over the back of the seat of the car and anchors by a bolt to the floor. As we had not been to buy a safety seat here, I was non the wiser to the fact I was breaking the law.

It just highlights again the many differences in the way things are done over here, that us "novices" are not aware of.

She was very understanding of my British ignorance and I wasn't penalised (thankfully), but a trip to Canadian Tire to buy my son another seat is on the cards tonight !

Can anyone else highlight any more differences that "newbies' need to be aware of ??????

Thanks
Debbie xx

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My original car seats (Britax) were and are better made than anything here. They still use three point harnesses here for example and many brands seem to be cheaply made. Anyway, you can buy a tether strap for your carseat from the supplier through their Canadian distributors. Britax sell car seats here. Most tether straps are generic anyway and I would far rather use one of those with e.g. a Britax carseat than a carseat I am not happy with from here. Another problem is the van seats that tilt and stow - you cannot use a infant seat or a seat that requires a tether on one of those. That means, in my van (Toyota Sienna) there are two seats that my kids in still in carseats cannot use. Aggh!

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Here's a tip: In general, it is illegal to drink alcoholic beverages outdoors in public places (eg. parks).

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I know, what's up with that law? That alone should be illegal. Oh how I miss having a beer standing outside a pub on a hot summers night.

Another difference between the UK and BC is the graduated licencing for driving. Its hell trying to get a new licence if you let you UK international one expire. It will take you another 3 years just to drive with no conditions.

The other thing I noticed about Vancouver, where I moved to is how much people network here. I have met allot of people of are still close to the people they went to kinder garden school with, everyone seems to know everyone here which has its plus and minus points. The great thing about that though is once you have built up a network finding jobs is much easier.

Re: All the unknowns .......
 

Hi Dingbat

I asked her about buying just a strap, but she said there could then be issues with the safety seat being modified ????? Plus, looking at the back of the seat (A Maxi Cosi Priory) I'm not sure how one would attach ??? I will certainly look down this route though and see if Maxi Cosi have a distributer here. I've been illegal for the last 9 months, so another day or so to get this sorted hopefully won't matter.

Re: All the unknowns .......
 

Alcoholism used to be a huge problem in Canada.... there was a lot of "drinking and driving".... and lots of "domestic abuse" due to a culture of drinking alcohol. The gulleys along the highways used to be full of empty beer bottles. "Have one for the road" was commonly spoken. Then Canadians woke up one day and excessive boozing became socially unacceptable - the cost was simply too high. The police started doing on the road checks to make sure that people weren't driving drunk - too many had been killed. Laws became much stricter.

Canadian society changed; this action against alcoholism has been a big success and Canadians should be congratulated. I'm not saying that the problem has been totally solved, but it is much smaller than it used to be. Now smoking is also becoming socially unacceptable because of the costs to the heathcare system.

I believe the current problems we have with crystal meth, marijuana, heroin, and cocaine all combined are very small in comparison to the problems we used to have with alcoholism - that's just how bad it was 35-40 years ago.

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As long as the seat meets the Canadian Safety Standard, you are OK, all UK seats exceed the standard. :) Look for "retro-fit" and then type in your car seat name:

http://www.car-safety.org/latch.html

There is a section on retro-fits in here and the brand names (like Even-flo) of generic tethers. Check your car insurance - it may say that you are not covered if your child is in an accident while in a seat purchased outside North America.

http://www.safety-council.org/news/sc/2003/carseat.html

Gives the scoop.

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You may want to check with a car dealership (service manager or sales staff) and ask if they have any suggestions.

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I'm all for that law if it keeps the streets clear of vile trashy abusive alcohol worshippers honking their guts up, using the streets as toilets etc. I like a beer as much as the next man, probably more so, but not at the expense of the next man's own quality of life or sense of security and wellbeing.

Vive le difference.

Rich.

Re: All the unknowns .......
 

Does this just apply to the car seats rather than the booster seats? We bought 2 new booster seats when we landed last June and they have neither anchors nor tethers.

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Yes, just the infant car seats . The RCMP officer told me they have done crash tests over here that show how infant seats just held in place by the cars seatbelt are able to move forward in the event of an accident, so they insist upon anchoring as an extra measure.

When a child is in a booster seat, the cars seatbelt is around the body of the child, not just holding the seat in place, so thats the difference. :)

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Crash test video

need to buy the full report.

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Not knowing that cost me $52. Now we put the beer and wine in cups.

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Yes, that's the trick.

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I know maxi cosi are owned by a Candian company
I think its Dorel, try tracking it down with a search engine ?

I found this out a while ago whist trying to find a distributor for a Quinney stroller