Clahal

Has anyone done this when moving from the UK to US?

Are the car seat safety laws the same? ie will our UK car seats even be legal?

Thanks 😀

Pulaski

British/ European child car seats are generally not compatible with US regulations.

sir_eccles

I believe the biggest difference is the lack of chest strap on British seats.

That said ISOFIX is (more or less) the same as LATCH in terms of attachment to the car.

Gillymonkey

No, neither are legal in the other country.

slices

No idea how to handle this next time we fly over to the US (which very likely will be when we move). Previously my in-laws used to pick us up at the airport with a set of car seats they kept at their house. Now they want us to take a car service from the airport which doesn't provide car seats. I was thinking of just checking their car seats from the UK, but given they aren't legal in the US I'm not sure what to do.

Pulaski

It's a good question, that I thought the OP would have asked, but under the circumstances I don't see a problem with bringing your seats and using them to get from the airport, either until you can get to seats you have pre-ordered from Amazon, or bought from your nearest Target.

sir_eccles

Find a car service that does have car seats? If it was Phx I'd be able to tell you which ones have seats and which don't.

Or as Pulaski says, for that one trip you'd probably "get away with it", just cross your fingers you don't get into a crash.

username.exe

The thing is, they're already approved for a British crash... how different is it going to be in the US?
You're number one concern is the safety of the kids as opposed to satisfying a local rule.

I agree, use them to drive to Target on the way back from the airport and pick up a new set there.

Pulaski

That's what puzzles me. If one design is safer, whichever, why isn't everyone using it? .... And if both designs are equally safe, why can't the consumer take their pick?

I fear that, as with vehicle collision tests, the tests that the US uses are different from the tests applied in Europe, and that it is an apples to oranges comparison.

In any case I severely doubt that a traffic cop would recognise a non-compliant seat anyway, and that only in the event of a major accident, involving fatalities, would the design of a child's car seat ever become an issue.

sir_eccles

Arguments regarding chest straps notwithstanding (I've seen people on the internet get into very heated arguments about them), the actually safety of the seat is probably not the issue.

I see two issues:
- unlikely but possible is a cop who knows the regulations and gives you a ticket
- you get into a crash, the insurance company finds out you were using an illegal seat and invalidates your insurance

username.exe

Yeah, you're right on that.
Still, I think the risk is minimal if you replace them immediately.

penguinsix

These links explain some of the differences in more details:

European Standards vs American Standards: Car Seat Edition

Harmonisation of standards for car seats and even crash test dummies is part of a US - EU trade negotiation that has been stalled for the last few years.

http://www.theglobalist.com/car-cras...lantic-divide/

Pulaski

I am not sure that description is correct, or at least complete, because the child seat that we bought in the US for little Miss P had a "top anchor" and both our Accord and F250 have anchor points for it. In fact my truck only has an anchor for the third "top" anchor, and relies on the seatbelt (threads through the seat, behind the child) for the lower anchor points.

Admittedly when little Miss P started school and Mrs P and I started commuting separately we bought another seat, which did not have a top anchor, and had a tendency to flop around compared to the "three anchor seat".

In the event I was buying another seat I would definitely look for one with a third "top" anchor. FWIW the top anchor seat we had was a Recaro brand.

ETA FWIW I think the "support leg" looks daft, and far too easy to either install wrongly, or knock aside, either when putting the child in the seat, or the child kicking it. IMO The third "top" anchor is much superior because once installed it can't be moved accidentally.

MarylandNed

Have you told your in-laws about the car seat issue? If they know that their grandchildren won't have car seats, wouldn't they be willing to pick you up as before instead of taking a car service? Alternatively, how about renting a car through a car rental company that does provide car seats? I wouldn't want the hassle of checking in car seats that aren't even legal anyway and need to be replaced. Obviously the safety of the kids comes first so you have to do what you have to do.

Pulaski

Based on earlier posts by the OP, this is a job/career move, not a family sponsored move.