Obviously, this is on my mind because when I talked to insurance after the accident, the agent told me that it does not need to be replace, which seems to fly in the face of all that we've been told. So, I googled and found an article by the NHSTA (which seems like it would be a good source) saying that after a minor crash that the seat does NOT need to be replaced. I was shocked.
http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/c...raintreuse.htm
http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/c...raintreuse.htm
- NHTSA recommends that child safety seats be replaced following a moderate or severe crash in order to ensure a continued high level of crash protection for child passengers.
- NHTSA recommends that child safety seats do not automatically need to be replaced following a minor crash.
- Minor crashes are those that meet ALL of the following criteria:
- The vehicle was able to be driven away from the crash site;
- The vehicle door nearest the safety seat was undamaged;
- There were no injuries to any of the vehicle occupants;
- The air bags (if present) did not deploy; AND
- There is no visible damage to the safety seat
- Clarifying the need for child seat replacement will reduce the number of children unnecessarily riding without a child safety seat while a replacement seat is being acquired, and the number of children who will have to ride without a child seat if a seat were discarded and not replaced. The clarification will also reduce the financial burden of unnecessary replacement.
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