Help with Canadian Car Seat stuff

[Jwebbal]

My Canadian friend here in the US was just in a car accident, and needs to replace her car seat. She is very worried about buying an American car seat now and then having problems with Canadian standards once she gets back to Canada. This is a perfect opportunity to replace the not so great car seat she has with a better one. She would really like a Britax, either a Marathon or ideally even a Regent, but is telling me that they don't sell them in Canada, or that they are not marketed or tested for Canada, and she doesn't want to take one to Canada and then get in trouble, either with a ticket from a cop or from someone if they get in an accident and someone notices her car seat does not have a Canadian sticker on it? I am not quite sure about any of this. I am having trouble looking it up. Can someone help me? She doesn't want to have to buy a seat from Canada and then have to pay the shipping (her insurance won't pay for the shipping from Canada), and is really worried about just buying a seat here and getting in trouble when she goes back to Canada? Does this make sense?

[LizaBear]

She cannot legally use a US seat in Canada if she is a resident of Canada. The testing standards are different (minorly).

Basically - if she buys a US seat, and is stopped and found to have a seat without Canadian stickers on it - she can be fined here for "improper use" or worse.

Marathons are sold in Canada - they are the same seat, but do have different stickers on them and different weight limits due to the different regulations.

[shannon0218]

I'd be inclined to contact Britax directly, they may be able to help her, the Marathon sold in Canada is the exact seat (unlike some of the others) so perhaps they could provide her with the stickers or something like that. I've had nothing but extremely helpful dealings with the folks at Britax. Regents are sold here as well, they're hard to find but they're here, but currently she can buy the Marathon, the Roundabout and the britax booster seat here in Canada. Depending on her child's age she may do better buying the booster since the Marathon can't be used for as long in Canada as it can in the States. (only to 40 lbs)

[roomformore]

Well, we've only been in Canada a year and will have a baby here this winter. I'm glad to see this thread as I had no idea the laws were different. I'm not familiar with any of the seats you've all mentioned here. Would any of you recommend one seat in particular?

[shannon0218]

We have 2 marathons, they're fairly easy to get (even toys are us sells them) adn they're very comfy/safe. I haven't seen the Regent up close and personal but my other plug for Britax is that dealing with the company is great--unlike Evenflo, I have NEVER dealt with a worse baby product company than Evenflo--I shouldn't say that, to deal with them they'd have had to respond to my emails, letters and phone calls. The store I bought my Marathons and the Evenflo I returned actually dropped their product over the lame time I had dealing with them.

[Jwebbal]

shoot! So she bought a Marathon, but its only good to 48 lbs in canada?????? What the hell??? She is going to kill me, and on top of that the Regent is not approved in Canada?

[shannon0218]

can she take it back and exchange for the britax booster? It's got true side impact head protection which is lacking in the Marathon once they hit a certain height.
Basically, in Canada, latch has only been approved to 40 lbs and as such there is NO 5 pt harness seat that is approved past that.
Oh and I happen to be training my insurance agents dog and she says they will totally replace the seat and she shoudl fight it but it should be paid for. She said sure if she's speaking to the people at the call centre they'll tell her they won't pay but she needs to get on the phone with HER agent and tell the agent they need to do something--the insurance is responsible to get all family members home again, that means seats for a young passenger. She said she knows her agency would tell her to buy a cheapish seat in the states and they'd pay for that as well as a new seat here in Canada.

[shannon0218]

oh (sorry, on IM with her) but she also said that they'd likely fly home all occupants instead of paying for 2 carseats and a cross border rental. So that could be a stumbling block in that if they are saying they'll fly all home they don't need the seat but she says you can still fight it and threaten to go to the insurance board, it's not the agent's choice how the person is covered.

[Jwebbal]

Sorry, I should have explained. She lives here now, will be for probably at least another 6 months. So yeah, thats why its such a problem. As for a booster, she is only just turning two next month, so really, two small for a booster, but I am pissed that this seat will only work for them until 48 lbs. I should have seen if there was some other seat that would have worked better for her.

[lasciate]

While she's in the US, she can pick up a Cosco Scenera for about $40 to use for the next 6 months, then buy a Marathon when she returns to Canada. Roundabouts and Parkways are also sold in Canada, but not Regents.

No harnessed seat is approved beyond 48 pounds in Canada, but unless her child is really short and stocky, she will get more use out of the Marathon than any other seat because it is the tallest available in Canada. Most carseats are outgrown by height before weight.

[shannon0218]

Also, my friend is a cop who is carseat certified and has been behind many of the weekend blitzes in this area. He told me he's never known of a cop to make you weigh your kid. Unless it's obvious they're way too big you're fine and he told me unless a child is WAY too tall he'd rather see them too heavy in a GOOD seat.

[lasciate]

Originally Posted by shannon0218

Basically, in Canada, latch has only been approved to 40 lbs and as such there is NO 5 pt harness seat that is approved past that.

Just want to make some corrections - LATCH/ISOFIX anchors are certified up to 48 pounds in *all* countries. A carseat for a child weighing more than 48 pounds must be installed by the seatbelt. Transport Canada defines a child as weighing no more than 48 pounds, so no child restraint is tested past that here.

Originally Posted by shannon0218

Also, my friend is a cop who is carseat certified and has been behind many of the weekend blitzes in this area. He told me he's never known of a cop to make you weigh your kid. Unless it's obvious they're way too big you're fine and he told me unless a child is WAY too tall he'd rather see them too heavy in a GOOD seat.

I'm not sure exactly why you posted this but giving people advice to use a carseat beyond the manufacturer's instructions is extremely dangerous and is putting that child in the position of being a crash test dummy. There are restrictions on height AND weight for a very good reason.

Originally Posted by shannon0218

I'd be inclined to contact Britax directly, they may be able to help her, the Marathon sold in Canada is the exact seat

Also, there has been no official statement from Britax that the US Marathon and Canadian Marathon are exactly the same seat, so I'd be very wary with making assumptions. How would you feel if you were wrong?

[shannon0218]

Actually there's been a couple threads with links that britax has made the statement that the canadian and american marathon are identical. Britax also confirmed this with me when I called them.
I hardly think that using a marathon in Canada to the weight they are approved of in the states is "dangerous" Is the us government also being "dangerous" when they say it is safe to use the marathon with a heavier child, are they being negligent?????? I'm not quite sure how your logic works on that.
Frankly, I'll keep my kid in a 5 point harness longer over putting her in a less safe option--if it's "safe" in the states and in Europe adn it's the same seat than while it goes against Transport Canada's definition of a "child" I'd love to hear how it's unsafe in Canada but the same set of circumstances are considered superior in safety once you cross the border. Does something magic happen when go through customs?

[lasciate]

If you have links to confirm they are the same seat, I'd like to see them.

Regardless, you are advising people to ignore the manufacturers instructions (an incredibly dangerous/irresponsible thing to do) so if their child is in a collision and is hurt/killed what are they going to do? "Oh, someone on the internet said it would be okay." That's not very comforting.

[Throkmorton]

My issue with her buying a Marathon is more that it will lack a CMVSS sticker if purchased in the US, and she could be ticketed for having an imported seat when she gets back here.

Could she buy something inexpensive, like a Cosco Scenera to get her by until she comes home? The get a seat approved for harnessing to 22kg here, such as an Evenflo Generations or Graco Ultra Cargo

The Regent is not approved in Canada, and the Marathon is very, very expensive.

[Jwebbal]

Problem is that their insurance is picking up the tab for the new seat, and when they come back to canada they would have to purchase their own seat out of pocket, and they are strapped for cash most times, students and all. They found a seat, it will do for now, not sure what they will do in Canada. Thanks everyone for the help.