Carseat Questions - Canadian traveling with Tots in USA

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I have a Canadian carseat and plan on renting a car in the US. I have
two questions about this:

1) Do Canadian carseats meet US FMVSS (they meet the CAD Motor Vehicle
Safety standards, but what about US ones)? While driving in the US,
can a cop give me a ticket for not using a FMVSS-approved seat?

2) Do rental cars in the US all come equipped with tether bolts? I
can use the seatbelt for securing the lower portion of the carseat, but
if the car doesn't come LATCH equipped, I cannot secure the tether
strap. In Canada, it is the law to attach the tether strap.

3) I will be flying a US airline (United). Their website says "as
long as the carseat meets US FMVSS and is certified for use on
aircraft, it can be brought on board to secure your child". Well, my
carseat has a CMVSS sticker (because it was manufactured in Canada) and
says it's certified for use on aircraft. According to the FAA website,
they should allow me to use the seat, but I am afraid either the ticket
agent, or boarding agents may start an argument if the carseat is not
FMVSS approved. Using all logic, it makes sense that the airline gets
foreign travellers and has had to deal with this before, but who knows.
Has any Canadian had any trouble using their CMVSS approved carseat on
a US plane?

Thanks!
Paula

[Nan]

On 28 Mar 2005 15:41:11 -0800, wrote:

>I have a Canadian carseat and plan on renting a car in the US. I have
>two questions about this:
>
>1) Do Canadian carseats meet US FMVSS (they meet the CAD Motor Vehicle
>Safety standards, but what about US ones)? While driving in the US,
>can a cop give me a ticket for not using a FMVSS-approved seat?

I can't answer specifically, but you can inquire if the car rental
company will also rent you an approved carseat if you find that yours
won't be approved.

>2) Do rental cars in the US all come equipped with tether bolts? I
>can use the seatbelt for securing the lower portion of the carseat, but
>if the car doesn't come LATCH equipped, I cannot secure the tether
>strap. In Canada, it is the law to attach the tether strap.

Most if not all rental cars will be LATCH equipped, as they're mainly
newer models. Older models aren't LATCH equipped, so using the tether
strap isn't law as yet (at least not in our state).

>3) I will be flying a US airline (United). Their website says "as
>long as the carseat meets US FMVSS and is certified for use on
>aircraft, it can be brought on board to secure your child". Well, my
>carseat has a CMVSS sticker (because it was manufactured in Canada) and
>says it's certified for use on aircraft. According to the FAA website,
>they should allow me to use the seat, but I am afraid either the ticket
>agent, or boarding agents may start an argument if the carseat is not
>FMVSS approved. Using all logic, it makes sense that the airline gets
>foreign travellers and has had to deal with this before, but who knows.
> Has any Canadian had any trouble using their CMVSS approved carseat on
>a US plane?

Nan

[enigma]

Nan > wrote in
:

> On 28 Mar 2005 15:41:11 -0800, wrote:
>>2) Do rental cars in the US all come equipped with tether
>>bolts? I can use the seatbelt for securing the lower
>>portion of the carseat, but if the car doesn't come LATCH
>>equipped, I cannot secure the tether strap. In Canada, it
>>is the law to attach the tether strap.
>
> Most if not all rental cars will be LATCH equipped, as
> they're mainly newer models. Older models aren't LATCH
> equipped, so using the tether strap isn't law as yet (at
> least not in our state).

um, as far as i know, no US state requires tether straps
because no US car has the anchors for them. i had them
installed in my car for my Britax.
Canadian cars come with the tether strap anchors installed.
so... no, no rental car in the US is going to have tether
bolts. they should all have LATCH by now.
personally, i like the tether strap more than LATCH. it just
seems safer to have the top of the car seat anchored as well
as the bottom.

i don't think i've ever heard of a cop checking the carseat
for certification during any traffic stop. they might check to
see if it was installed properly, but even that would be
uncommon in my experience.
and you'd have to check with the airlines to see if they
would approve your seat. i don't see why they wouldn't... the
safety standards can't be that different between US &
Canada...
lee

[o_mom]

enigma wrote:
> Nan > wrote in
> :
>
> > On 28 Mar 2005 15:41:11 -0800, wrote:
> >>2) Do rental cars in the US all come equipped with tether
> >>bolts? I can use the seatbelt for securing the lower
> >>portion of the carseat, but if the car doesn't come LATCH
> >>equipped, I cannot secure the tether strap. In Canada, it
> >>is the law to attach the tether strap.
> >
> > Most if not all rental cars will be LATCH equipped, as
> > they're mainly newer models. Older models aren't LATCH
> > equipped, so using the tether strap isn't law as yet (at
> > least not in our state).
>
> um, as far as i know, no US state requires tether straps
> because no US car has the anchors for them. i had them
> installed in my car for my Britax.
> Canadian cars come with the tether strap anchors installed.
> so... no, no rental car in the US is going to have tether
> bolts. they should all have LATCH by now.
> personally, i like the tether strap more than LATCH. it just
> seems safer to have the top of the car seat anchored as well
> as the bottom.
>
> i don't think i've ever heard of a cop checking the carseat
> for certification during any traffic stop. they might check to
> see if it was installed properly, but even that would be
> uncommon in my experience.
> and you'd have to check with the airlines to see if they
> would approve your seat. i don't see why they wouldn't... the
> safety standards can't be that different between US &
> Canada...
> lee


LATCH _includes_ a top tether anchor, and is required on all cars made
after Sep 1, 2002. I doubt that any major rental car company will have
a car more than 2 years old, so they should all have top tether anchors
(as well as lower anchors). See http://www.car-safety.org/latch.html

The states do not require their use, because not all cars have them,
but that does not stop you from using them. If you should be stopped
for some reason, most cops will just check that the kid is in a seat,
not that it is "approved" or installed correctly. As the previous
poster said, it would be very unusual for a cop to do that.

As far as the airlines, I have never had them check a seat for FAA
cert., but I would bring a copy of any regulations that say a Canadian
seat is OK, along with the carseat manual.

[Hillary Israeli]

In >,
enigma > wrote:

* um, as far as i know, no US state requires tether straps
*because no US car has the anchors for them. i had them

The T in LATCH actually stands for "tether!" My Honda Odyssey has tether
spots, and so does my husband's VW Passat.

I can't imagine under what circumstances a ticket would be issued for
having a poor carseat installation - there would have to be an actual
accident for a cop to even notice, is my thinking.


--
Hillary Israeli, VMD
Lafayette Hill/PA/USA/Earth
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it is
too dark to read." --Groucho Marx

[Nan]

On Tue, 29 Mar 2005 18:56:36 +0000 (UTC), (Hillary
Israeli) wrote:

>In >,
>enigma > wrote:
>
>* um, as far as i know, no US state requires tether straps
>*because no US car has the anchors for them. i had them
>
>The T in LATCH actually stands for "tether!" My Honda Odyssey has tether
>spots, and so does my husband's VW Passat.
>
>I can't imagine under what circumstances a ticket would be issued for
>having a poor carseat installation - there would have to be an actual
>accident for a cop to even notice, is my thinking.

I would have to agree. IME, a cop is only likely to make note if
you're wearing your seatbelt and that the child is strapped in a
carseat.

Nan

[Nan]

On Tue, 29 Mar 2005 21:21:01 GMT, Nan > wrote:

>On Tue, 29 Mar 2005 18:56:36 +0000 (UTC), (Hillary
>Israeli) wrote:
>
>>In >,
>>enigma > wrote:
>>
>>* um, as far as i know, no US state requires tether straps
>>*because no US car has the anchors for them. i had them
>>
>>The T in LATCH actually stands for "tether!" My Honda Odyssey has tether
>>spots, and so does my husband's VW Passat.
>>
>>I can't imagine under what circumstances a ticket would be issued for
>>having a poor carseat installation - there would have to be an actual
>>accident for a cop to even notice, is my thinking.
>
>I would have to agree. IME, a cop is only likely to make note if
>you're wearing your seatbelt and that the child is strapped in a
>carseat.
>
>Nan

Oops, and issue you a ticket if you're not, of course!

Nan