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

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-off�
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

"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.

Thank you for this info! I will check it out now!

On Mon, 5 Apr 2004 16:13:50 +0000 (UTC), (Hillary
Israeli) wrote:

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-off�
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

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

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