PDA

View Full Version : locking clip



pricetl
10-22-2003, 12:54 AM
I am looking for a seat for a friend who will be visiting me. Her daughter is 28 pounds. She is coming from Japan for a week. After I will keep the seat for my son when he grows out of his Britax RA. The seat will be moved from car to car, so a locking clip is impractical. Do the seat possibilities for me (Graco Car-Go, Evenflo Apollo, etc.) need a locking clip? Since she's not 30 pounds yet, it seems I am pretty limited on what I can get. I have two Britax RA already for my 2 kids. I rarely use a car, so I really don't want to spend much, but I do want to be safe! Please help!

thanks
tracy

Joolsplus2
10-22-2003, 12:09 PM
It actually doesn't depend on the seat you have, it depends on the kind of seatbelts your car has. Cars newer than 1996 must have seatbelts that lock and hold carseats in without a locking clip, and your car's manual will tell you how your seatbelts lock (there might even be a tag on the seatbelt itself).
Either you pull the shoulderbelt all the way, and you hear it ratcheting back in, and that holds it tight, or the "latchplate" (the silver/"male" part) will clamp and hold the lapbelt tight (the lapbelt is the part you want tight, the shoulderbelt won't matter for a carseat install). And lapbelts always have "locking latchplates" and you must NEVER EVER use a locking clip on one.

Hope that helps, and if you have more questions, do ask (there are a few other different types of belts, but these are the very common types and should cover you)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx