SAFETY SQUAD BLOG

A Unified Car Seat Message: Our Mission

One of the reasons we created Safety Squad was to create an independent voice for parents. We sit in a position to see all facets of the industry and form opinions free of influence. Our only loyalty is to parents. We give them a birds eye view, so that they can make informed decisions regarding safety for their family. This is the first in a series of comments on unifying the car seat message.

Before we talk about what is being said, we must first identify who is talking.
In no particular order:

• NHTSA (National Highway Traffic & Safety Administration)
• Safe Kids (Local, National, Worldwide)
• State legislators (Individual State law)
• Car Seat Manufacturers
• Retailers
• Vehicle Manufacturers
• Public Safety Agencies
• Watchdog Groups
• Non-Profits
• Individual CPS Techs
• JPMA (Juvenile Product Manufactures Association)
• Researchers (Consumer Reports, etc)
• Hospitals and Medical Associations (Specializing in Child Safety)
• Media
• Parents (Forums, Blogs, Websites)

Everyone has their own message. Some are similar, while others are quite different. Either way, the end product is a confusing and conflicted message about how parents should address car seats. It is our mission to create unified message, while allowing individual opinion and enterprise.

Recalls: Britax Frontier

Britax Frontier

CHARLOTTE, NC (December 12, 2008) - Britax Child Safety, Inc. announced today that it is conducting a voluntary safety recall on the FrontierT combination Harness-2-BoosterT child restraints. The recall includes Frontier child restraints manufactured between April 1, 2008 and September 14, 2008 for Model #s E9L54E7, E9L54H6, E9L54H7 and E9L54M6 and between April 1, 2008 and September 17, 2008 on Model # E9L5490.

If the harness straps are repeatedly loosened one strap at a time, then the harness strap(s) may become detached from the metal yoke located on the back of the child seat. If the harness strap(s) becomes loose or detached then the condition can be corrected by inspecting the back of the child seat and reattaching the harness straps. If this condition occurs, the child may not be properly restrained, and in the event of a vehicle crash there could be an increased risk of injury. 

To address this issue, Britax will provide two rubber caps that can be easily placed on the yoke slots to prevent the harness straps from detaching. The rubber caps have been specifically designed for the Frontier yoke to provide a secure fit and have been tested to verify their effectiveness. 

No later than January 7, 2009, the rubber caps will be mailed with an instruction sheet to all registered Frontier child restraint owners with manufacturing dates prior to September 15 or 18, 2008. Additional caps will be made available to retailers with affected inventory of Frontiers manufactured prior to September 15 or 18, 2008. All Frontier child restraint owners should confirm whether their Frontier is affected by verifying the date of manufacture. Detailed instructions for locating this information can be found at www.FrontierRecall.com

Until consumers receive their remedy kit, they should confirm that their harness system is properly attached to the metal yoke and they may continue to safely use their child restraint.

Owners of the Frontier child restraint who have not registered their product or need to verify existing registration should contact the Britax information line, toll free at 1-800-683-2045 or visit www.FrontierRecall.com

Recall Notice: Graco ComfortSport

This is the second of two Graco Comfort Sport recalls since 2007. Read Carefully.

Synopsis: Graco is recalling 43,994 Comfortsport(TM) convertible car seats, in the Frazier(TM) Fashion, manufactured from November 1, 2006 through October 8, 2007. 

These seats were equipped with a large sized, supplemental pad or body pillow that partially obscures the child airbag warning label which is on the seat pad. The partial obscuring of this label fails to conform with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 213, Child Restraint Systems. Serious injury could occur to the child should the seat be improperly placed in the vehicle. Graco will notify owners and instruct them to discard the supplemental pillows. The pillows are provided for comfort only and do not affect the seat's ability to protect your child in the event of a crash. 

The recall is expected to begin during December 2008. 

Owners may contact Graco at 1-800-345-4109 or by e-mail at consumerservices@gracobaby.com. 

NHTSA Campaign ID Number: 08C009

Safety Notice: Peg Perego Primo Viaggio 30/30 manufactured between 7/07 and 3/08

Peg Perego has issued a safety notice for Peg Perego Primo Viaggio SIP 30/30 car seats manufactured between July 2007 and March 2008.  The actual notice from the Peg Pergo site can be found here.  All Safety Squad Clients affected by the notice have been emailed.

The following is from their site.

"Peg Perego has taken this voluntary action because mold flash may exist on less than 0.25% of plastic car seat adjuster covers manufactured between July 2007 and March 2008. (Mold flash is a situation where excess plastic leaks from the mold and creates an unintended edge on the component.) Although this part passed the Sharp Edge Test as mandated under federal safety testing procedures, the mold has been redesigned to eliminate the problem on subsequent production runs.

The part in question has scratched the heels of some bare-footed infants. In the reported incidents,   professional medical attention was not required, nor were the children seriously injured.

A new, skin-safe adjuster cover has been sent to all customers whose registered Peg Perego Primo Viaggio SIP 30/30 car seats fall within the July/March manufacturing window. To ensure no one is missed, Peg Perego will send a skin-safe adjuster cover free of charge to any customer who requests one by calling Peg Perego toll-free at 1-800-671-1701.

Child safety and comfort is Peg Perego's top priority.  To ensure that it remains as such, Peg Perego is providing an Online Associate to facilitate customer interaction on the web. It is Peg Perego's goal to effectively and proactively communicate with the public through this medium."