Graco MyRide 65 has no side impact protection?

[texasfarmom]

Graco MyRide 65 has no side impact protection? That sounds a little concerning to me. I was about to buy this car seat (again) tomorrow, but now I'm unsure.

We have owned this car seat for over a year, but it now needs to be replaced after the airport did a great job beating it up. Ugh! We have really liked it and, although a small thing, have really liked the TWO cup holders located right on the seat. DD can put toys, food, and drinks in them and reach them easily. This is one of the biggest reasons I want to purchase this seat again. I don't like the cup holders that hang off the side taking up some additional space in the back seat (passengers already barely fit beside seat in the back) and look harder for DD to access.

BUT, no side impact protection? Does this sound right to you? Should I find another seat? How concerning is that fact? Everything else about the seat we have liked.

[DahliaRW]

There are no federal mandates for SIP.  There is no way to certify if a seat does or does not have it.  As far as the MR, it has very deep sides, which, IMO, is SIP.  Also, rfing is the best SIP there is.

[Maedze]

Side impact protection is provided de facto by the following things:

1.  5 point harness

2.  Rear facing position

3.  Deep shell or head wings 

4.  Some method of energy absorption (EPS/EPP foam or a flexible shell) 

There are no standards for side impact protection.  

It concerns me that you mentioned the airport beating the seat up.   1.  You should never, ever check a seat.   We consider seats 'crashed' once that has happened.  2.   All children should be IN their seats on the plane. 

[rinap]

Does this include gate checking? Can you get me more data on why you shouldn't have lap children on airplanes? My last data said that it was safer than driving to one's destination (though most of our trips couldn't be replaced by driving)
 

[Renaissance31]

I have that car seat and it has the side impact testing logos on it. Where did you hear/read that it doesn't have side impact protection?

[Maedze]

Yes, this includes gate checking.  

All safety organizations relevant to child travel...INCLUDING the FAA! (as well as NHTSA/Safe Kids and the American Academy of Pediatrics) advise parents to never have a 'lap child'.  Lap children are nothing more than projectiles, at risk of serious injury or worse in the case of turbulence.   You cannot hold a baby in severe turbulence or a runway crash (which is completely survivable if correctly restrained), anymore than you can in a car crash.   Per the recommendations, all children under 40 lbs need to be in an approved restraint.   

Furthermore, lap babies endanger everyone else on the plane.   Think about it...they make you stow your 2 lb purse under your seat.  Imagine the damage a 30 lb toddler could do. 

Originally Posted by rinap 

Does this include gate checking? Can you get me more data on why you shouldn't have lap children on airplanes? My last data said that it was safer than driving to one's destination (though most of our trips couldn't be replaced by driving)
 

[Maedze]

It's a simple statement of fact.  FMVSS 213 regulates what testing car seats need to pass to be made available in the US.  There is no standard or requirement for side impact testing.  Some companies do internal testing for side impacts, but because they don't tell the public exactly what that testing entails (it could be, "Child doesn't fly out of seat" or "seat doesn't split in half"), it's fairly meaningless. 

<----- certified Child Passenger Safety Technician through Safe Kids, under the auspices of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

Originally Posted by Renaissance31 

I have that car seat and it has the side impact testing logos on it. Where did you hear/read that it doesn't have side impact protection?

[DahliaRW]

Lilke Maedze said, seats can claim whatever they want regarding SIP, but the NHSTA has no standards so there is no way to know which seat has more or less SIP.

[chickabiddy]

A year or two ago there was a backless booster that claimed to have Side Impact Protection.  This was a legal and credible claim, because as everyone else has said, the words themselves are meaningless.  Any carseat can claim "True Side Impact Protection" (Britax) or "e3 Side Impact Protection" (Evenflo) and there's nothing to back up those claims.  Graco may choose not to make such a claim (although I think they claim "Safety Surround Side Impact Protection") but the truth is that *any* harnessed rear-facing carseat offers a great deal of side impact protection no matter what the marketing department chooses to put on the box.

[chel]

How does the sip differ from rf to ff in the same seat?

[Renaissance31]

K... so we have no standards here in US. What else is new?

So I did some looking and read several reports that the "Safety Surround Side Impact Protection" of the Graco MyRide 65 meets the European standard for side impact protection. That's better than what a lot of other seats can boast i guess.

[mkksmom]

I read that the safest place for a lap baby if there is turbulence or an emergency landing is on the floor. Can you imagine being told to prepare for a crash landing and the flight attendant telling you to put your baby on the floor? That is what made me buy a seat for my girls when they were under 2.

[Michelle Renee]

Originally Posted by mkksmom 

I read that the safest place for a lap baby if there is turbulence or an emergency landing is on the floor. Can you imagine being told to prepare for a crash landing and the flight attendant telling you to put your baby on the floor? That is what made me buy a seat for my girls when they were under 2.

Not to hijack but when we flew.. we used CARES harnesses. The kids loved them and the airline liked them.