Car Seats and Boosters

Updated on April 27, 2009
A.G. asks from Allen, TX
5 answers

Hi Mamas,
When my girls grew out of their infant carriers, they moved directly to Britax Marathon Car Seats. They hold a lot of weight-- don't remember exactly but seems like it was 60-80 pounds. It was my intention to keep them in those as long as they needed restrained-- liked the 5 point harness & safety featers. We did have small boosters you use with seat belts for daddy's car of when I needed extra seats.

On Friday, we were in a car accident. I had 4 children in the car-- both car seats and both boosters were involved.

The police told me I need to replace the car seats. (Did not mention the boosters? Since you use a seat belt with those, does anyone know if they are fine?

I had been very nervous about my boosters, but the children in the boosters were just as fine-- actually more fine-- than the ones in the Britax. The Britax children had more abrasions from the straps than the booster seat children.

I am so thankful that no one was seriously hurt. As I contemplate my options for replacement, safetly is my number one factor. Cost is my second because we are unexpectedly buying a new vehicle right now.

Let me get to the point now that you know my back ground:

At ages 4 and 5 1/2, investing in car seats seems a little silly. Should I just go to boosters for both vehicles now? NOt sure it is worth it to buy new Britaxes for just a few years.

Any ideas on quality, safe boosters? Advice on when to make a change from a car seat to a booster? My head is swimming with insurance information, car purchasing details, etc and would love some guidance in THIS area!

Thanks!
A.

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So What Happened?

PS to my post.... Unfortunately I am the "at fault" driver. I did call my insurance company back and they said they were meaning to call me too as they realized we forgot to talk about that. They told me they would just send me $75 per booster, or reimburse from receipts for new ones. I told them that I also had two very expensive car seats, and although the boosters were far less than $75, my car seats were considerably more. He acted as though they would reimburse at cost-- we will see! It is nice they will cover something!

I am looking on-line at the Britax Frontier Booster. Any thoughts on that one? Has a 5-point harness option but then once they outgrow that goes up to 100 pounds. Looks sturdy! Any thoughts?

Thanks to those who have responded so far!

More Answers

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A.P.

answers from Dallas on

As the previous poster mentioned, the at-fault insurance company is responsible for reimbursing you for the replacement of those seats. HOWEVER, you have to be vocal about it. It should come out of the property damage settlement, but some insurance companies do not see the seats as permanently attached to the vehicle, so they may refer you to the liability adjuster. You can make the argument that the seats are required by law anytime the children ride in the car. Basically, if the PD adj. doesn't give it to you, make the liability adj. give it to you. If all else fails, you can file it on your homeowner's insurance, but if you are like most people, your deductible is more than the costs.

Now, for which car seats to buy, I suggest going right for the boosters at this point. My neice has a GRACO booster that seems pretty sturdy. HTH!

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S.S.

answers from Dallas on

The insurance company that is responsible for paying for the accident is also responsible for covering the cost of new carseats (both bosters and seats). You may want to check with them before you start replacing seats.

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L.M.

answers from Dallas on

A. -

First off - thank God everyone is okay! Second off - lets make sure if anything happened again - the result is the same! 5 point for sure!!! Go to you tube and check out what people say...specifically the Miller family. Their 3 yr old was over 40 lbs - they assumed he should go to a booster...his seat belt failed in an accident. He didn't make it. Now - keeping in mind - it was the seat belt that failed - not the seat....but his sister is now in a 5 point....after I saw this (someone forwarded it to me) I made sure that my son at the time 3 went into a 5 point that would hold him for a very long time!

Good luck....

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J.T.

answers from Dallas on

first, i'm glad everyone is okay. second, abrasions from a 5pt harness are FAR preferable to serious injury in an accident. it sounds like you were lucky that it was the type of accident that a booster was able to do the job. additionally, i am REALLY surprised that your kids, especially your oldest, aren't too tall for the marathon... i know at 5, my son was too tall for the marathon, though he hasn't even almost outgrown the weight limit still at 6.5 years old. that may be one of the reasons the harnesses caused minor injury. anyhow, i would not go to a booster. in a rollover collision, that could make the difference between life and death. my 6.5 year old is still in a 5 point harness, the britax regent. my 3yo is in a britax boulevard. and i am speaking from experience, my boys were involved at ages 1 & 4 in a rollover interstate collision, both in britax boulevards, both walked away literally without a scratch. good luck! i would go with the britax regent, or at least something that's a 5pt harness.

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M.W.

answers from Dallas on

look here:

www.car-seat.org

AWESOME and informative site.

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