Install two Britax RA's with central tether anchor?

[kzallison]

The rear deck of my Acura TL has a central, pre-drilled anchor point for attaching a tether, which makes it very easy to secure a Britax RA when it is in the middle of the rear seat. Now that I am expecting a second child, I will eventually have two RA's on opposite sides of the car. Is safe to secure both tethers to that central point, or do I need to have my dealer install two more anchors in the rear deck directly behind each car seat?

Thanks for your input.

[tobymc]

You need two more anchors.

You can only use one tether per anchor. It has to do with the amount of force that the tether anchor can withstand. Also, the tether anchor can only be off center by something like 20 degrees, and using a center anchor for an outboard seat is going to be more than that.

For awhile, your new baby will be rear facing. That tether won't use the tether anchors (if you use the Swedish style tethering). You can try and see if your older child's RA will fit in the center with another RA outboard. It may be six of one, half dozen the other, but I think that it makes sense to put the rear facing child outboard, since the baby has the extra protection of being rear facing. The forward facing child can then sometimes have the extra protection of being in the center. However, sometimes two RAs won't fit side by side.

If you think you'll have this car awhile, you might want to go ahead and just get the two outboard anchors installed.

Toby, CPS tech