As a loving parent, you will be sure to install seats that are correctly sized for your child in your car. These are not always cheap, so if you are involved in a crash, you may wonder whether the seat is OK to continue using, or whether you need to throw it out and buy a new one.The answer that safety experts have come up with is that it depends on the severity of the crash, but if you are ever in doubt, it is best to replace it with a new one.
Determining the severity of the collision
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends that the only time you should ever consider a crash minor enough to justify keeping the seat is if all of the following are true:
- The seat shows no visible signs of damage
- No one in the vehicle was injured
- None of the airbags deployed
- No damage occurred to the door closest to the seat
- The vehicle was still driveable after the crash
If even one of those things is not true, then you must replace the seat. Much like bicycle and motorcycle helmets, car seats may look OK on the outside but could have suffered internal damage that would make them less effective were you ever to have another crash. That is too big a risk to take with the life of someone you love.
Replacing a car seat, or more than one car seat, won’t be the only cost you have after a crash. They can be incredibly expensive occurrences – even minor ones. Learning how to seek compensation can help you cover these costs when someone else was at fault.
