Car Seat Replacement After An Accident

If you have been involved in a car accident and have retained a child in a child car seat, it may be necessary to replace the seat. In April 2004, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced changes to the agency’s recommendations about replacing child safety seats following a crash. NHTSA explains:

The change was made to ensure parents or caregivers continue to correctly restrain their children following a minor crash and to reduce the burden of unnecessary child safety seat replacement.

NHTSA continues to advise parents and guardians that child safety seats should be replaced if they have been involved in a moderate or serious accident. A crash is minor — and the seat involved in it is safe for reuse — if it meets all of the following criteria:

1. A visual inspection of the child safety seat, including an inspection under any easily movable seat pad, does not reveal any cracks or deformation that could have been caused by the accident.
2. The vehicle in which the child safety seat was installed could be driven from the scene of the accident.
3. The door of the vehicle closest to the child safety seat was not damaged.
4. There were no injuries to any of the vehicle occupants.
5. The air bags (if any) did not deploy.

Accidents that meet all of these criteria are much less severe than the dynamic test used in compliance testing of FMVSS 213 “Child Restraint Systems”, and are highly unlikely to affect future child safety seat performance. As a result, parents and caregivers can rest assured that the child restraints involved in these minor collisions will continue to provide a high level of protection.

NHTSA recommends parents and caregivers check with their child seat manufacturer with regard to performance, operation, and installation of their child restraint.

Most car seat instruction books continue to recommend replacing child car seats if they have been involved in a car accident, whether or not they are in the seat. Most insurance carriers will reimburse you for the replacement of a new car seat if it was in a  crash.  Check with the insurance company handling the accident for more details, as all policies are different.

At Frank's Auto Body we guarantee a clean frame pull that restores your car to its factory specs. Our technicians have significant training and experience in the frame repair process, and our facility is equipped with advanced machinery that makes that process fast and precise.

Contact Us

Frank’s Auto body

7279 N. Ridge Rd.

Madison, OH 44057

https://goo.gl/maps/K9VaoF1QA4Vt56Kq6

Phone: 440.428.6259

Fax: 440.428.0386