In honor of National Seat Check Saturday this past weekend, Cook Children’s raised awareness of proper child car seat safety and the danger of counterfeit seats.
At the beginning of this year, North Texas hospitals began noticing an alarming number of counterfeit child car seats involved in injuries resulting from a car crash. From November 2021 to January 2022, Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth reported seeing at least eight. Another dozen were identified at Parkland Hospital in Dallas.
These knockoffs do not offer adequate protection in the event of a crash. Counterfeit seats are usually sold online and look much better on the website than in person.
The soft covers over arm straps can help distinguish counterfeit car seats from real ones. Fake ones will have arm straps that are too long, resulting in a displaced chest buckle.
Calling the manufacturer can also help buyers determine the legitimacy of their newly-purchased car seats.
When buying a car seat from a third party, Cook Children’s recommends buyers be on the lookout for a few red flags.
For one thing, if the price seems “too good to be true,” it probably is. Also, purchasing a child’s car seat from social media solicitors or third-party e-commerce vendors is not advisable.
Cook Children’s also suggests that buyers look for a safety warning label on the car seat, which is required by law. Real safety warning labels often contain detailed information that a fake label would not have.
Authentic labels often include the following:
- A certification label with the required legal phrasing and a registration card.
- The car seat manufacturer brand, printed or engraved.
- Clear printed instructions and labels indicating it’s the car seat’s correct use and installation.
- A model number, working customer service number, and manufacture date.
For more information about a particular car seat, make sure to call the manufacturer.