Should a Child Seat Be Replaced After a Crash?

When inspecting a vehicle if you notice a child seat was in the vehicle, makes sure you inquire whether it was involved in the loss or not.

Even if the child seat was not in use, you should replace the child seat if damaged, just to be safe. This is a matter of safety. See the excerpt from an article on saferide4kids.com below.

“In the past the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommended to replace a child restraint whenever it was in a crash no matter the severity of the crash. (According to an article on saferide4kids.org)

However, NHTSA has revised that recommendation in an attempt to reduce the number of children without a child restraint while their crashed restraint is being replaced and reduce costs for consumers and insurance companies.”

Now the NHTSA has revised their stance and do not require the child seat be replaced during minor crash. All of the following conditions must be met to be considered a minor crash:

• The vehicle is able to be driven away after the crash
• The door nearest the child seat is undamaged
• No persons were injured in the collision
• No air bags deployed
• There is no visible damage to the seat

Want more information on safety seats? Checkout the full article mentioned above HERE.