This morning, I educated a client on installing their Chicco Keyfit infant seat. With little effort, they had it installed perfectly with LATCH. Fifteen years ago, I started my first website with a page on the LATCH system and how it would revolutionize carseats by making them easier to install. The Keyfit is a fine example of this revolution.
This afternoon, I listened to a great online webinar presented by SafeRideNews, publishers of the excellent LATCH Manual. The best part of this manual is that it helps certified technicians and instructors wade through the insurmountable information in owner’s manuals, plus everything omitted from those manuals, and condenses it all into nice tables and charts.
In condensed form, this information is still over 230 pages long. In fact, a typical parent has little chance in the real world of understanding relevant limits for using LATCH on a forward-facing carseat and even a few rear-facing ones. I expect that most of those who manage to use LATCH correctly will not realize when they must switch to a seatbelt. Even with newer government standards, understanding when to use LATCH can still be mind-boggling for an experienced technician who owns the LATCH manual. So much so that I am hesitant to install a forward-facing harnessed carseat with LATCH ever again, unless a seatbelt is not an option for any reason.
Back in 2000, I hoped that LATCH would make technicians obsolete. Today, a technician has to have an advanced degree in LATCH in order to be able to correctly instruct parents on how to use lower anchors and/or top tethers. I never thought I would miss locking clips and the good ‘ol days before LATCH was prevalent.
Quiz time: What is quicker? Installing a Britax Frontier with a long seatbelt path, or figuring out when you can use it with LATCH in a random vehicle that arrives at a checkup event? If you’re not sure, then perhaps you agree with me that LATCH has become a complete debacle, at least for forward-facing carseats.
If there is absolutely no airbag present (some driver side airbags also cover the center seat in trucks), then it might be acceptable to do this. You have to thoroughly read your vehicle and carseat owner’s manuals to make sure neither one prohibit this for any reason. There might be a configuration that works, but I would strongly suggest a visit to a local technician for a checkup to be certain because of all the different possibilities.
Hello! Does anyone know if it is safe to put a rear facing car seat in the center front seat if that seat doesn’t have an airbag. My father has a 6 seater pickup where the center seat has a lap belt and no airbag. We have 6 month old twins, a 3yr old, and a 7yr old. When they visit him, is it safe for all of them to ride in his vehicle? Do we need to switch vehicles?
The obnoxious part is that at least 80% of the confusion is fixable with better regulation. Require anchors to be rated to 150 lbs. Require seats to have one weight limit for both LATCH and seatbelt. Require dedicated LATCH for every seating position of adequate width with no overlap.
And then, poof, it’s fixed.
You should post the video of the Expressway (Freeway?) with rigid LATCH. That was the dream, the rest of this is the nightmare…
I think a lot of it is that it was never envisioned we’d have such heavy seats holding such large kids!
There are also access issues… which hopefully NHTSA will update with the new rule they are proposing.
Amen.