UK car seats in USA?

littlemisswords

Hello, I hope someone can help me. We are going on holiday to America and staying with my aunt and uncle. We had hoped we could take our own car seats over to use in their cars. I emailed Britax to check if they were compatible but this was their reply...

"I can confirm that unfortunately, the legal requirements of the European and Federal Standards (USA/Canada) are incompatible so it is not legal for you to use a European approved child seat in the US/Canada or vice-versa."

Does anyone know if UK seats are physically compatible with American cars? I can't imagine the police over there are spending their time checking tourist car seats....but I don't want to lug them over there to find out they don't actually fit in their cars.

If we're not able to take our own car seats with us does anyone have any other suggestions on what we could do? I've come up with....rely on public transport or hire a car with car seats...I'm not keen on either option to be honest.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

EDIT: I should add...the seats are Britax Duo Plus (isofix or 3 point belt) and Britax Evolva 123 Plus (3 point belt). So as both can be installed with a seat belt surely they will fit? I'm just worried about getting there and finding out there's a problem!! Their cars are a GMC Envoy and a Honda Fit if that makes any difference to anyone replying?

davetrousers

What type of fixing are your car seats? Seatbelt or ISOfix?

I can't see how a seatbelt wouldn't work, but that said the very fact that ISOfix is called ISOfix suggests it should too!

You could buy car seats from a shop there, then dispose of them when you're done, you'd just have to account for them in your holiday expenditure.

Murphy_The_Cat

Its a while since I've done it, but when mu children were younger, they sat in their car seats for the flights and then we ISOfixed them in place into the hire car which use the US "Latch" system, so yes, they were physically compatible.

Times may have changed, but the seats were always firmly secured to the frame of the car and they were as safe in the rental car, as they would have been at home.

You can hire seats from the rental company - it'll cost a few $$$'s, but you'll be certain that all the i's and t's have been crossed.

****** bear in in mind that US safety standards will be different from UK/eu safety standards and that you may struggle to get a definitive answer to you question !

How old is your child ?

littlemisswords

They are 1 and 3. As both seats can be fitted with the belt then I'm assuming they should be fine? Fingers crossed!

Jackmydad

I'd take Murphy the cat's advice and hire them with the car. That way you know they're OK.

davetrousers

Make yourself aware of the cost of hiring car seats. When I have looked in the past it has been pretty high.

There was an item on TV a few weeks ago (it might have been watchdog) about how grim car seats can be when hiring. There seemed to be a fair amount of detritus in the nooks and crannies of the ones they looked at.

Why not have a look at the US Britax website to see if you can garner any useful info. about your car seats?

GwylimT

You need to contact the car seat manufacturer and ask if they have been crash tested in the car type you are hiring, if they haven't, hire a seat that has been.

littlemisswords

I'd rather not hire the car seats if at all avoidable. We are not hiring a car as my aunt and uncle have two cars so there really isn't any need for us to hire one, and as others have mentioned I'm wary of the quality/condition/safety of hire car seats.

I did have a browse around the US Britax website earlier as I was looking for an email address to contact them. They don't have one, and unsurprisingly there was no info on my car seats on the US site.

I feel pretty reassured that I'll be able to fit them safely with the seat belt, just as safe as they would be here at home. Anyone know of any reason why this wouldn't work? (Aside from them not being technically legal....)

Thank you to everyone who has helped

John259

FWIW here's the child car seats sold by Walmart
https://www.walmart.com/search/?query=child%20car%20seat&cat_id=0

As ever in the USA you would need to add sales tax to those prices.

This post is purely to give you some idea of costs, I'm not saying that purchase is necessarily the best option.

Murphy_The_Cat

After googling evolva 123 plus and Duo Plus.
The Duo Plus will secure via ISOfix the same way as it would in the UK (In the US, its called LATCH, rather than ISOfix) to the frame of the car. You can also use the seatbelt method if you prefer - the only thing it possibly/probably won't do is "top tether" at the back of the seat (IIRC, this is something that is commonly done in the US, but not the UK).
The evolva will attach via the seatbelt in the same way.

As a helpful aside, you're going to really have your handsfull going through the airport with 2 youngsters, 2 car seats, your hand luggage, prams, stuff related to little'uns etc - contact the arriving airport ahead of time and ask about assistance to meet you off the plane.

rach_k

Are they both forward facing seats? Check out the local/state laws for where you'll be. AFAIK, some states are much better than the UK at making rear facing a legal requirement (I think up to 2 years?) so it may be illegal to FF your younger child there.

I wouldn't take your own seats. Aside from the risk of them not fitting the vehicles correctly (and proper fit is essential), you don't want your seats being chucked around as luggage at the airport. They could be seriously damaged without it being visible. Plus, what would happen should you be in an accident? If the seats weren't technically legal and your child was, God forbid, injured, would your insurance use that as a way to get out of paying for treatment or whatever else you need? It's just not worth the risk.

Get your aunt and uncle to buy some seats for you over there. Even if it's a couple of hundred pounds, it's worth it IMO. There are some things that just aren't worth scrimping on. You could probably sell them on afterwards, especially if your family know somebody looking for seats (or do they know anybody who would lend you some - as long as it's somebody they trust?).