Unexpected "gifts", unintended consequences

 

So, here is a challenge that I haven't found a way to address, so I am posting this as an attempt to address it, car seats dropped off at my house.

To start, whoever dropped off this Chicco Fit2 series Key-Fit car seat, I won't say thanks because it presents a problem I will address in a minute. This seat was likely left for me so I can assist a family in need who could benefit from having an infant carrier style car seat for an expected newborn.

But, I didn't receive it, so I was unable to vet the seat with the donor. Also, it is missing parts, and it cannot go to a family expecting a newborn without the missing parts. Good thought, poorly executed by someone taking advantage of being able to determine where I live.

Please do not drop off car seats at my, or any other safety professional without talking to us first. It is rude and shows you have no respect for our privacy. Additionally, in my area, this is considered dumping trash, and I can be fined for someone doing this, and I do not want a fine from the local authorities. Also, I have had to install video surveillance, and, in the process, I capture an image of the person dropping off items along with information about their vehicle that I pass along to the local authorities to lessen the likelihood that I get a fine. Local authorities will make their own decision about the donor.

There are so many parts of this I do not like. With the vetting of a car seat, if it is complete, I can get it to a family in need. Win, not trash, not recycled, better us of a product with a finite product life that can serve the needs of another family. Lose, it goes to recycling and doesn't serve any community good and there is a cost of passing the seat along that I get stuck with.

Now, can I expect everyone looking to dispose of a car seat to fine and read this blog post, no. A simple search for information on recycling a car seat in Colorado should yeild the information that will allow someone to do the right thing without inconveniencing me. I established car seat recycling in Colofado almost 25 years ago, and the program is now collecting used car seats from all over the state. Success!

When it comes to used car seats, the information in this post should answer most questions, but if you need more, find me through the About Me page or at this link; The Used Car Seat Blog (usedcarseats.blogspot.com) or through the magic of search.

When moving to forward facing

I decided to use a recent text exchange to share some thoughts, here it goes:

 Hi Bill!!! Hope you are well. Thank you again for all your help with our kiddo's car seat.

I have some friends transitioning out of their Doona’s for now (will prob have another kid so not donating them just yet) but do you have a fancy and an affordable recommendation for the next size up? Would you suggest going to a convertible one that lasts until they entirely grow out of car seats? Any opinion about the ones that can turn around when you’re parked to access baby? (The swivel ones) >The swivel style seats are an old idea that's become fashionable now that the patent IP is now public domain. The two things to consider with these seats are size & weight, so a larger vehicle helps. Like the with Doona, you need the real estate in the vehicle. Before purchasing, I advocate some tire kicking, put the kiddo in a display seat at a local retail store to make sure it fits the child well. Even if the planned purchase will be made online, trying the seat first can save time & headaches. Do not order online, try and return when it's not a good fit, those seats get destroyed because they now are used and have an unknown history. This wastes seats and drives up costs. I have sample car seats for this purpose, often donated* by retailers for show & tell because they won't be sold. With 37 years in the field, my experience is almost second to none. As you've experienced, 30 minutes with me can save hours and provide peace of mind you can't get from a video experience. As for the "forever" seats, I see mostly Graco, Britax, Evenflo, Safety 1st, Nuna and Chicco. I've worked with all the forever & 360 style seats. The challenge is tall parents, meaning tall kids. All seats are designed around the 50% size kiddo, so kids often outgrown the 360's and forever faster than average, so they're not always the good value they're marketed as. Always best to talk as there other variables that need consideration that rarely get addressed in reviews, or "on the box" as I like to put it. >>My follow on for this Blog is as follows. First, the dad I was communicating with was appreciative and a little caught off guard by how much there is to consider. Honestly, in person I would expand on this and add a few "food for thought" items. That will be another Blog after this year's Denver Auto Show. I will throw in there the importance of using the vehicle seat belt for the installation of these larger and heavier car seats, along with using the tether strap when forward facing and not the LATCH system lower anchor strap. Remember, LATCH is a convenience installation system and NOT the same as a seat belt. It's nerdy, and wordy, but there is a lot to add to flesh this out and help this all make sense. So, another Blog in the near future.

Lastly, for this Blog entry, and there will also be more to come, when it comes to all car seats, price does not determine safety. Price is maybe a little better engineering, some upgraded materials and extra features. I'm a techy and a car guy, so I like bells and whistles, but if they make the car seat harder for the family to use properly every time**, all the extra stuff, dollars, features do not make the car seat safer. More to follow.

* responsible retailers are concerned with potential liability, so when a car seat is purchased, used for a visiting family member and returned to the retailer the seat is considered suspect and either recycled, sent to the land fill or if a local educator (like me) is available it might be donated for demonstration use. Sadly, option A & B are most common. Option C is used when the local retail manager is aware of the option, and with retail turnover, keeping in front of these store managers can be a full-time job. Please don't buy, use and return as it drives up the cost of goods for retail and we all pay for it. Borrow or rent from a reputable service provider. My organization has been providing this service directly, and with partner organizations, for over 25 years.

** the best car seat, no exceptions here, is one that fits the child, fits your vehicle and will be used properly for every ride. No brand is best. No model or style is best. Quality education from an experienced car seat technician, transportation safety coach, makes all the difference. Its 2025, I'm still checking between 25 to 30 car seats a week. It is rare to find more than 1 car seat a week that is correctly installed and used. So, gain piece of mind by engaging a professional. The guessing and assumptions I see might cause injury or worse if there's a crash, so spend a little time and money and know you're creating the best safety environment you can. Lives are depending on it.

Kicking tires at an auto show

 Now I realize that most folks go to an auto show to enjoy the experience of all the brands in one place at the same time or escape the sales pressure of visiting an auto dealership. Our Denver area show is in late Winter or early Spring (depending on the year) and a family may be enjoying an outing, kicking some tires and staying out of the weather.

For me, it's all of the above, and the opportunity to see what's new in the back seat, let me explain. As one of the most experienced car seat safety educators in the Universe, over 131,000 car seats reviewed or educated on with families, part of my commitment to family safety is understanding the space available in a vehicle, primarily the back seat.

A car seat technician, transportation safety professional with my background, is looking at the "system" presented by the family's combination of vehicles, person size, number of/ages of occupants and car seat(s). Adults vary in height, so the drivers, front passenger seat and sometime the folding splits in the second row, third row or folding down options will determine how much space is available. Vehicles present a well-defined volume of space and car seats use a predictable amount of space in the vehicle. What and how all these pieces fit together determined by seating position and the space available. It's a Tetrisy bunch of fun from my perspective.

Enter the auto show where I can sit in, photograph, adjust seats, look at anchor systems, visualize space, search for incompatibilities, test seatbelt geometry, imagine and do all the other things I like to do to educate myself on all the different vehicles and safety systems out there. It's what a "recovering" engineer, armed with a press pass, a Senior or Master Cars Seat Technician does.

Now, the real challenge, once distilled, getting this information to parents and caregivers.

This Blog is one vehicle to do so. Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Reddit, Telegram, and even X are ways to get the info out, but I'm not here to debate safety, I'm here to educate and support. The fact that you grew up with "Mom's right arm" as your car seat and lived isn't a testament to Mom, her right arm or anything else than you weren't likely ever in a life-threatening crash. There is no reason to debate the outcomes of the past, they stand on their own. We're here in the 2020's and most everything in our lives is fundamentally different from the 1970's or 80's.

Based on the laws passed at Federal & State levels, known science, vastly improved vehicle safety and other factors, the final challenge in safety is in-vehicle distractions. I'll go down that rabbit hole later but the bottom line, put down your personal device. If it's state law, like Colorado, please follow the law. If it's not law in your area, do it anyway.

There are so many topics on the list yet to cover. I'll mention a social media outlet previously not mentioned, YouTube. My first video on car seat safety was produced in 1987. Video technology has improved measurably since then, but it's still not yet where I can make a video for you. Yes, I can make a video for the masses, but solutions are personal, family oriented and with over a million vehicle, child and car seat combinations, a million more videos will not solve the problem of bias, incorrectness and misinformation online. You're always welcome to reach out to me. Cheers!

April showers us with opportunity

 As April 2024 approaches, those of us in the child passenger safety space have a few fantastic options for our continuing education. The first is the Denver Auto Show, April 4-7 at the Colorado Convention Center.

I make an annual pilgrimage to the Denver Auto Show to observe firsthand what vehicle manufacturers are offering for child passenger safety features, check compatibility between cars & car seats and offer advice to parents on making car seat purchases, educate on proper installation techniques, expand my photo library of years of documenting automotive evolution and answering general questions about car seats and children's safety.

As a safety professional for over 37 years with over 130,000 car seats installation assists under my belt, a former automotive repair technician and a traveler who studies transportation safety in the countries I visit, I bring a unique perspective that has included invitations to partner with auto dealers, transportation museums, auto repair shops and many other organizations who participate in the transportation safety space. For several years I was invited to include my "Ask the Car Seat Guy" information booth in exhibitor spaces at the Denver Auto Show, and with the general feeling that concerns like Covid are now in the past, I am planning on returning that booth to the show in 2025.

For me, the Denver Auto Show is a place to get a lot of research done in a one stop shopping kind of experience. It's true that not all auto brands participate, but the Denver Auto Show allows me to visit many brands and explore many models before I go out into the market and visit brands who don't participate. In previous years, before the Covid shut down, I would lead a "tour" through the show for car seat technicians who were looking for expert guidance and continuing education in the vehicle and car seat compatibility space. And that's where we're going next.

Starting on April 7th thru the 9th, with some auxiliary programing starting the 6thn and the 10th, the National Child Passenger Safety conference, Lifesavers 2024, will be in Denver, also at the Colorado Convention Center. A little overlap, something I think is fantastic, and a great way to see car technology before we delve into a few days of car seat technology. I am hopeful my colleagues will take advantage of this rare opportunity for our profession to get a twofer. I'll be taking a day or two at the Denver Auto Show before the Lifesavers Conference for sure.

For me, later in the month is a Just Between Friends sale with one of our larger parenting organizations/clients where I will be holding car seat an education clinic and doing car seat checking for participating parents. These are clinics I offer as often four to eight times a month with many partner organizations. For me, the informal conversation style presentations I do with these groups are far more effective than doing a straight up car seat safety checkup event. Modern parents are looking for a partner in safety, not a checkup event that feels invasive and judgmental.

To address that I operate two programs through our organization, Beer & Baby Seats and Transportation Safety Coach. I learned some years ago that meeting parents where they congregate and, on their level, facilitates a conversation that allows for communication that you cannot do in a hospital or car seat safety check setting. Parents want to be talked with, not to. They are looking for support, not feeling judged. They've found that social media, and the Internet in general is full of incorrect information, criticisms and agenda, making it hard to find the answer they are looking for and feeling supported in their decisions. Our technician class tries to encourage us as technicians that the parent or caregiver is the one who makes the final decision about child passenger safety. We are educators, and at most, we should document when a parent may want to make a different decision that what we may offer as advice.

So, in an effort to not stand on this soap box too long, I'll end here for now. It is easy to get a little carried away as this is a topic of much passion for me and my fellow safety technicians. Every thumbs down we leave on social media, every judgement we post toward a parent, each incorrect video we promote lessons our effectiveness as educators. We succeed as a group when we educate, support and accept that like starfish washing up on the beach, we can have a goal of safety for all, but we can't be the savior of all.

Are you a cop or firefighter?

 I get this question a lot, and I proudly answer No. Now before you think that there is distain in that answer, there are a few things to know. I'll start with the law enforcement side of things. If you want the full detailed story, ask me. For the record, I spent three years exploring law enforcement as a profession and through that I was drawn away for several reasons. I found the culture of law enforcement toxic, and this was starting in 1980 for me. Because I was a very good shot, I was being recruited into SWAT types of activities, and to me, that was toxic times 2, not interested. I enjoyed being on the shooting team and the shooting range, watching and working fellow officers, many of whom could barely qualify with their service weapon. I observed many who presented as "afraid of their weapon". That equals, "likely to lose it in an altercation and either be shot or lead to the endangerment others". Not interested. I had a gunsmith relative and a lot of firearm training prior to looking into law enforcement and part of my early interest was my comfort with and ability with firearms.

I loved the community interaction yet saw domestic disputes that scared me. Radios, Teletronics, video and computers, great fun and ultimately took me another direction. Too much criminal justice, not enough "Protect & Serve". Since my background was very automotive, assisting the radio shop, the vehicle maintenance shop appealed to me. The tech side of me did work integrating very early portable computing into the vehicles movement, producing very early cable TV programming for the community and other law enforcement. I'd had a part-time job in a local computer store and transportable, car mounted, radio frequency computer tech was part of my jam. At the time, no live airbag systems to worry about deploying and launching a computer into an officer's face. Very leading edge and a lot of fun for me.

As for the video part of things, we did a weekly show for cable TV that highlighted home safety, technology, vehicle safety, some firearm safety, and many other topics of interest. Body worn video systems weren't on the radar other than talk of how cool we thought it could be. We did put video recording systems in some vehicles, mostly command and control oriented or SWAT, but nothing like can be done today. It was the programing and video experience that led me to produce a car seat installation video as a community service project in 1987 with my Kiwanis club that brought me to early car seat education activity and set me on this journey.

A side note on the video, Blockbuster Video stores had a community education section where the community could put video tapes for the community to borrow for free on community related, public safety and other topics. This is where the video was made available and it was marked to expecting parents, along with other prenatal topics. In my community, the library hadn't started offering these services, so it was Blockbuster where my video on car seats lived, until they closed up shop. My extra inventory of extra tapes was in a building owned by my parents that was set ablaze by an unhappy homeless person 2 months before I was to travel to retrieve the tapes to dump master content to DVD. I lost all the content, and many early car seats, personal items and essentially a lot of my youth in that fire.

In my next installment I'll cover firefighting, more technology and teaching part of this adventure. I've done a lot of things and never been afraid of a learning opportunity or challenge, and these mini-CV's will introduce you to my various adventures, and varied background. Hange on ...

What is a counterfeit car seat?

Well, seems we're missing something, so I'll be out, looking around since the posts following the April 2011 post aren't here. Actually, they were on another site that is now lost to time. A shovel and some time and we'll get them dug up. Until then, here's what is, or was new ...

During the covid time, this was a hot topic, so as is often the case, something old is new, again. When it comes to fake car seats, there are a few categories, a lot of misunderstanding, a lack of real knowledge and maybe a little stupid. Most of the challenges stem from education, or lack thereof. Why you ask? Because a 3-day class does not an expert make. It's a previous Blog post, and I'll be looking for it. Until then, just as with any profession that involves skill, learning over time and personal motivation, not all safety technicians, in the case car seat technicians (CPST) are created equal. Other than the current 3-day class? It used to be longer ...

I began my involvement in child passenger safety (CPS) back in the summer of 1987. Back then, it wasn't uncommon to meet a family that had a vehicle without seatbelts. My 1951 Hudson Hornet from high school in the late 70's didn't have seatbelts, and it was not only common for older cars, but it was also (and is) legal. I later added seatbelts, and that is another story. Since that time frame, I've helped people add seatbelts to more modern cars in markets/countries where seatbelts weren't and may still not be required safety equipment.

Much of what is being called counterfeit or fake in the US world of car seats is actually safety equipment imported from markets around the world that meet the safety requirements of country of origin or market of sale. Living in a college town, with an international student body, I've seen children's safety equipment from all over the world. The engineer in me says "that's cool" while the safety geek in me says "that's not going to work here".

If I have a car seat missing part of a harness, is it really missing, or is it not required "there"? It is usually the latter. But it gives the unexperienced the opportunity to say to say the car seat's fake, counterfeit or bad. I say that's perspective. Just because a part is required in one market, and not in another only reflects the meeting of engineering or performance requirements in xyz place. Just because a car seat designed for the US market has a harness clip and a 5-point design doesn't make it better than one without those features if another part of the world doesn't require them. America, we aren't the center of the universe, just the center of our universe.

Now I'm not saying there aren't fake or counterfeit car seats out there, I used to have a bunch of them. At one point in time, I had a collection of over 3000 car seats. Storage was affordable, and times have changed. Anyone say legalized weed? That's another story. But in that collection, I had car seats that looked like products from major manufacturers, but with no name, a misspelled name, a made-up name, you name it. I also had car seats from Europe, AU/NZ, China, all over the world and they were legal car seats, in their market of sale, but not legal for use in the US (vacation exemption notwithstanding, another story for another time.) They weren't fake, or counterfeit, or whatever.

So, with all this said, why is it coming up again? Slow news day? New year? Making something out of something that's really nothing, if you've got the experience. Should I show you a link I received a few times today? I'm thinking about, but I'm embarrassed for the reporter, the hospital mentioned and the making a mountain out of a molehill. My opinions, but relevant regardless. For now, I'll just say FOX31 News in Denver. I may step in it deeper tomorrow, but I have mercy for the ill-informed. For now.

Buy only what you really need

I've been speaking to parents on the topic of transportation and home safety, along with other topics about kids for over 20 years. I am continually surprised by the number of parents who think they need the latest and greatest x. While it is your money and you are free to spend it as you wish in a free market, as always, buyer beware. It should be no surprise that there are many products out there whose goal is nothing more than getting money out of someone's pocket. While that has been true, literally forever, for first time parents the need to navigate these waters is exceptionally important, and incredibly challenging. While I am not going to pick on specific products today, I'll save that for another time, I am going to offer this advice. While you are expecting, getting the baby's room ready, sharing this awesome experience with family and friends, start getting this little bundle of joy ready for a financial future. Open a 401k, 529 account, or similar appropriate investment vehicle, now. Ask all of those friends and family who are going to want to or offer to buy you stuff to make that same "payment" into this investment account for your little one and let that money grow over the next 18 years instead of the piles of junk that would otherwise grow in your closets, garage, basement and attic. You and your kid(s) will be far better off in 18 years if you do.

As always with my writing, Share what you like, ignore what you don't. I write what I see and know, and comments, good or bad, mean nothing to me. I will write regardless. If you wish to debate something, do it in another forum. I am not looking for any ego boost or validation, so don't waste your time. Cheers!