Child Car seats - Again!! sorry

[pauldolling]

We are travelling next weekend and have heard so much conflicting information regarding car seats and the law involving them.

Firstly I have a DD that is just over two and obvously need to go into a 'proper' car seat. I heard that the ones at Dollar rental are often dirty and with this in mind I thought I would bring a new one of our own. I saw one in argos that seems the best of both worlds, light, cheap and can be packed easily with a full harness. Here is a link to the seat in question. http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/s...Id=-1&catalogId=2501&productId=112540&Trail=C$cip=16970>C$cip=16977>C$cip=16979>FC$Brands=Triplefix&categoryId=16979
My first question is, will this be acceptable to Florida law. I am hoping it will be because of the full harness.

Secondly. I called Dollar and asked them about my DS, who is 3 1/2 and he weighs 36 pound. He is very tall for his age and I could not imagine having to put him into a full car seat as he uses a booster with a full back in this country. Dollar told me that he will be able to use the booster with a full back, making use of the normal car seat belt. My only worry is that I have heard some where else that ALL children under 5 have to go in a baby seat. Can anyone that has experianced this first hand explain the rules to me.

I know this has been covered before, but would really appreciate some help here, because I dont want to take car seats that are not usable once we arrive and waste the luggage space.

Thanks,

Paul.

 

[shellbell]

Hiya Paul

Were flying out on friday, our DD is only just 3. I have posted on here last week about car seats. I think you could either risk it and take your own in hope that they are legal in America. I am going to higher the dollar one and then buy one from Wal-Mart. This is going to work out the cheapest way. You can get them for around $30-$40 over there. To higher one from Dollar it will cost me $147, as were going for 3 weeks so this way i get a brand new car seat which i know is legal over there and its clean ( not like the dollar ones which i have heard are disgusting). I will return the Dollar one within a couple of days and explain it wasn't suitable and get my money back.

I did buy one from Toys r us the other week but returned it as i wasn't sure it would fit a car over there.

This probally hasn't helped you much, sorry.

Michelle

 

[MizzPrincezz]

Hi there I would think that car seat you provided in the link would be perfectly suitable to take with you and as it is a stage1-3 it would also meet the legal requires in Florida as it has a full harness. It isnt simply a booster seat which wouldnt be suitable for a 2 year old in florida or in this country for safety reasons

Hope that helps

Karon

 

[MizzPrincezz]

Forgot to mention...your son isn't heavy enough to use just a booster seat by florida Law he would have to be over 40-42lbs it isnt necessarily related to his height or age its the childs weight they take into consideration as well as age which by the way should be OVER 4 years too. Therefore you will have to take a full seat for that child too.

Karon

 

[allie5]

Paul, BOTH your children are going to need at seat like the one in your link (this will be fine, we use a similar Britax one). 40llbs is the limit for use with the car's own seatbelt (and booster). He will need a seat the same as your other child that uses an integral harness. My DD was a very big 3 year old and she used our two part Britax seat (with internal harness) with no problems. You maybe better off just taking two of those Argos ones with you.

Here is brief run down of Florida Law on Car Seats:


What Florida Law says about...
Child Restraint Requirements


All children under the age of 18 must be buckled up while riding in any car, pickup truck, or van on Florida's roads, no matter where they are sitting in the vehicle.

Children through the age of 3 must be secured in a federally approved child-restraint seat.

Children ages 4 through 5 must be secured by either a federally approved child-restraint seat or a safety belt.

Drivers are responsible for buckling up the child.

The cost to a violator will be a minimum of $60.00 plus $10.00 court costs.

Hope that helps.
Allie

 

[pauldolling]

In the end we have bought two of the car seats from argos as shown in the link above. They actually seem pretty good. I feel much happier now that I know they will both be safe and we are using our own seats rather than the hire ones from dollar.
Thanks for all you help.

 

[MizzPrincezz]

Glad we could help Paul have a great holiday, not long to go now


Karon

 

[pauldolling]

Originally posted by MizzPrincezz
Glad we could help Paul have a great holiday, not long to go now


Karon

And we can't wait now, both my kids just keep saying "we are going to Micky Mouses house" Cant wait to see their faces when we get to see the castle at MK.

 

[shellbell]

Paul, where are you flying from?

 

[pauldolling]

Shellbell, we are flying from Gatwick on Saturday, what about you?

 

[shellbell]

Manchester on friday, I just hope the plane lands. if we can get to the villa and get some supplys in we will be ok.

Michelle