The Importance of Registering Your Car Seat

With hundreds of thousands to millions of car seats in recall every year, it is imperative that parents register car seats to ensure their child’s safety. Historically, around 80 percent of vehicle recalls actually receive repairs. This means millions of families are driving around with a child in a compromised car. This makes ensuring your child’s car seats are safe all the more important.

Every year, the National Child Passenger Week Campaign and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) urge parents to register their car seats and booster seats so they can receive recall notices. By doing this, you give manufacturers the ability to contact you about any and all safety notices.

By completing this simple task, you can ensure that your child is in a car seat that is as safe as it possibly can be. It could mean the difference between life and death.

How do I Register A Car Seat?

In 2017, more than 700,000 individual car sears were recalled, but only 30 percent of recalls ever make it back to the manufacturer. This leaves thousands driving around with unsafe car seats. A study by Safe Kids Worldwide found that only 42% of families return the car-seat registration card that comes when you purchase a car seat. It is important to note that registering your children’s car seat will guarantee that you will be notified if a recall is issued.

There are two ways to register a car seat:

Mail-in your car seat registration card

Fill out and mail the registration card that came with your car seat. All of your car seat’s information will already be included. No postage is required to send this registration card.

Register online at safecar.gov or on your car seat manufacturer’s website.

You can also visit your car seat manufacturer’s website to register your seat. You’ll need to have the model number and date of manufacture found on a label on your car seat handy.

Registering your child’s car seat doesn’t take much effort. But it could keep your child from suffering serious injuries in a car crash.

What To Do In Case Of A Recall

It is important to note that most recalls don’t require you to stop using your child’s car seat right away. Some recalls are for minor issues such as a misprint on a label that would require sticking a new label on your child’s car seat. However, many other recalls are for easily repairable issues.

First, stay calm. Do some research on the issue and find out the specifics of why the manufacturer issued a safety recall for your child’s car seat. This will help you with figuring out exactly what you need to do to fix the problem. The second step to take is to contact the manufacturer. In most cases, the manufacturer will send the necessary part or parts needed to repair your child’s car seat.

If you receive notice of a recall, follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully and make any repairs necessary. This will ensure your child rides as safely as possible. Recalls are scary when you know your child’s safety is at risk. However, taking prompt action to correct the problem is a parent’s best precaution when it comes to keeping their child safe.

What is the Safety Recall Process?

Contrary to popular belief, recalls are not issued by the government. They are, in fact, issued by the manufacturer at the government’s urging. The NHTSA is the governing body that sets the standards for manufacturers to meet. Also, it is the agency that requires manufacturers to recall unsafe equipment.

The recall process is as follows:

Step 1: Loved ones or individuals who suffer injuries because of a faulty product or defect report the safety defect to the NHTSA.

Step 2: The NHTSA will review complaints upon receiving them. The agency will then analyze to see if an investigation is warranted.

Step 3: If the NHTSA finds credibility in the complaints then it will notify manufacturers of its recall recommendations.

Step 4: A safety recall is issued when the NHTSA finds a company has violated federal safety standards. A recall requires a manufacturer’s action to announce and remedy the defects.

While not all recalls are safety-related, most of them are. In some cases, automakers issue voluntary recalls, or the NHTSA imposes a recall by court order. No matter the reason for the safety recall, it is essential that you know exactly what is going on with your child’s car seat. Registering your car seat is the best way to receive up to date on your child’s car seat recall status.

What Else do Parents Need to Know About Car Seats?

Many parents may not know that car seats come with expiration dates. These dates typically range from two to eight years from the date of seat’s manufacturer. This date is critical to keep in mind if you are planning to recycle the seat for subsequent children.

An expiration date isn’t necessarily the date when the car seat can no longer be used. Instead, it’s more like a guideline from the seat manufacturer of the expected “useful life” of the seat. It is important that parents verify the age and expiration date of the car seat.

How The Carlson Law Firm Can Help

There are many laws and regulations in place for how products should work and fulfill expectations. If the product does not work as advertised, but rather, causes injury or even wrongful death, our firm can assist as soon as you contact our office. We have substantial experience with product liability cases, which is the liability of distributors, suppliers, and manufacturers for defective products.

When a consumer is unfortunate enough to be the user of a defective product, great danger could result. Our personal investigators can give you assistance in proving liability.  If you or someone you love has been injured as a result of a faulty product, contact The Carlson Law Firm as soon as possible. We are available to you 24/7. We care, we can help.