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#1
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Need 'skinny' carseats
Baby #3 is due in a couple of weeks and I finally decided to try
getting 3 car seats into my grand am. (nothing like putting it off!) I've discovered that it's not gonna work with the car seats I have now! (We also have a mini van that we use 95% of the time with the kids cause it's bigger and feels safer, but for those times when we need to use the grand am, I wanted to get it set.) We have a 40lb 4.5 yo who uses a booster, a 30lb 2.5 yo with a regular car seat and we'll soon have a newborn with a baby carseat. I tried getting them all in the back seat and it may have worked if I could have put the booster in the middle seat, however, it required a shoulder belt which we don't have in the middle seat. So, next step was to try the booster in the front. Even though I wasn't sure I was real keen on the idea, the booster paperwork says you can use it in the front passenger seat with an airbag as long as the seat is put all the way back as far as it will go. The only problem with that is, with the car seats in the back I can't put the front seat back very far at all. So that's a no go. So today I talked to the car dealership to see about getting the airbag disabled. They claim it's against the law to disable it and they will not do it. (I'm in NY State) At this point, I'm prepared to buy 2 or 3 new car seats if I can find some skinny enough to all fit next to each other in the back. Any suggestions? Or other ideas? I know we have the van, but I'm just worried about that one time in an emergency when the van is broke down and I need to get all three kids in the grand am. Sigh |
#2
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Need 'skinny' carseats
In ,
KD wrote: *So today I talked to the car dealership to see about getting the *airbag disabled. They claim it's against the law to disable it and *they will not do it. (I'm in NY State) They are talking out of their asses, just so you know. http://www.consumer.state.ny.us/clah...utomobiles.htm [the New York State Consumer Law Help Manual] ----start quote Since January 1998, automotive repair shops and dealers have been permitted, under appropriate circumstances, to install “on-offâ€? switches that allow air bags in passenger cars and light trucks to be turned on and off.Â* Dealers and repair shops cannot perform this work without an authorization letter from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Vehicle owners can get this authorization letter by filling out a request form developed by NHTSA and sending it to the agency.Â* NHTSA’s contact information is listed in this Manual’s Appendix. To qualify for an on-off switch, a vehicle owner (or users of the owner’s vehicle) must fall into one or more of the four specific risk groups.Â* For both driver and passenger sides, individuals with medical conditions where the risks of a deploying air bag exceed the risk of impacting the steering wheel, dashboard, or windshield in the absence of an air bag. For the driver side, in addition to medical conditions, individuals who cannot position themselves to properly operate the vehicle with the center of their breastbone at least 10 inches back from the center of the driver air bag cover. For the passenger side, in addition to medical conditions, individuals with the need to transport an infant in a rear-facing child restraint in the front seat because the vehicle has no rear seat, the rear seat is too small to accommodate a rear-facing child restraint, or because it is necessary to constantly monitor the child’s medical condition. Individuals with the need to carry children between 1 and 12 years-old in the front seat because (1) the vehicle has no rear seat, (2) the consumer must carry more children than can be accommodated in the rear seat, or (3) because it is necessary to constantly monitor a child’s medical condition. These are the only four categories eligible for the installation of on-off switches. ----end quote Clearly, you need to carry a child between 1 and 12 years old in the front seat because you must carry more children than can be accomodated in the rear seat, so you qualify for an airbag off switch. -- hillary israeli vmd http://www.hillary.net "uber vaccae in quattuor partes divisum est." not-so-newly minted veterinarian-at-large |
#3
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Need 'skinny' carseats
"KD" wrote in message ... Baby #3 is due in a couple of weeks and I finally decided to try getting 3 car seats into my grand am. (nothing like putting it off!) I've discovered that it's not gonna work with the car seats I have now! (We also have a mini van that we use 95% of the time with the kids cause it's bigger and feels safer, but for those times when we need to use the grand am, I wanted to get it set.) We have a 40lb 4.5 yo who uses a booster, a 30lb 2.5 yo with a regular car seat and we'll soon have a newborn with a baby carseat. I tried getting them all in the back seat and it may have worked if I could have put the booster in the middle seat, however, it required a shoulder belt which we don't have in the middle seat. Can you use the backless booster? They look less bulky to me. |
#5
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Need 'skinny' carseats
KD wrote: At this point, I'm prepared to buy 2 or 3 new car seats if I can find some skinny enough to all fit next to each other in the back. Any suggestions? Or other ideas? I know we have the van, but I'm just worried about that one time in an emergency when the van is broke down and I need to get all three kids in the grand am. Sigh I have 3 carseats in the back of my Camry -- one is a convertible (still using it rear-facing) and 2 are Graco something CarGo booster seats. The booster seats are fairly skinny compared to the convertible seats and they have 5-point harnesses that can be used up to 40lbs (they have belt positioners for kids 40-80lbs). Your oldest *may* be able to use a backless booster, which should take up even less room. Laura |
#6
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Need 'skinny' carseats
KD wrote: Baby #3 is due in a couple of weeks and I finally decided to try getting 3 car seats into my grand am. (nothing like putting it off!) I've discovered that it's not gonna work with the car seats I have now! (We also have a mini van that we use 95% of the time with the kids cause it's bigger and feels safer, but for those times when we need to use the grand am, I wanted to get it set.) We have a 40lb 4.5 yo who uses a booster, a 30lb 2.5 yo with a regular car seat and we'll soon have a newborn with a baby carseat. I tried getting them all in the back seat and it may have worked if I could have put the booster in the middle seat, however, it required a shoulder belt which we don't have in the middle seat. I'm sure it could work, because I've put 1 regular carseat, one infant seat, and one backless booster in the back of a Ford Escort, which I *think" is smaller than a Grand Am. The regular carseat was a Graco model, the infant seat was one of those with the base that fastens into the car, and the backless booster was some who-knows-what model somebody passed on to us. Clisby |
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