Signs of counterfeit child safety seats can be subtle, but they pose significant dangers that can lead to devastating tragedies, a trauma surgeon and California Highway Patrol officer said Wednesday.
“Just in my short career as a physician, I’ve already seen multiple children come in with fatal injuries due to not having proper support,” said Dr. Kevin Rodriguez, a trauma surgeon at Marian Regional Medical Center for the past seven months who previously worked in Denver.
Before an infant born at Marian leaves the hospital, staff inspect the child safety seat that has been purchased and installed by parents.
”Just in the past two months, Marian has seen six unapproved car seats already,” Rodriguez said. “That’s not counting the community partners that are also finding unapproved car seats.”
Unauthorized, or counterfeit, child safety seats often are purchased online or at swap meets with parents thinking they’re getting a great deal or upscale product. In reality, Rodriguez said, they’re most likely buying something dangerous.
“It’s very hard for parents to tell the difference between a counterfeit seat versus the approved car seat,” he said, adding that authorized car seats must meet multiple federal regulations. “Parents care about the safety of their kids. We care about the safety of their kids. The reason we’re doing this is to make sure that we don’t have to see them or their children as trauma patents.”
How to Spot Counterfeit Child Seats
Showing off an unapproved child safety seat, California Highway Patrol Officer Maria Barriga noted the thin straps, missing chest clip, and warning stickers with typos and inadequate adhesive.
She said she has already seen two of the counterfeit seats, one during a routine inspection requested by a parent.
Many of the unauthorized car seats should be used only with strollers since they don’t meet the federal motor vehicle safety standards with requirements that spell out the thickness of straps and other details to keep children safe during a crash.
“Also, there’s no chest clip, which is huge because this is what actually keeps the child and their shoulders in place in the car seat,” Barriga said, pointing out the flaws in the counterfeit car seat. “So if you don’t have that and get into an accident, it’s not going to hold a child.”
The unauthorized child safety seats lack an owner’s manual spelling out details, including height and weight limits, installation instructions and more.
They also don’t come with a registration card, which should be sent so the parents receive notifications about any recalls.
Authorized car seats have labels detailing model number, model name and a manufacturing or expiration date.
Labels on counterfeit seats lack specific details, contain misspellings and often don’t fit the area they’re placed.
Authorized car seats also sit at an angle deemed safe for a child.
“The angle where the child is sitting is super important,” she added.
Parents should do their research and confirm a car seat meets federal standards, Barriga said.
People also should be wary of buying used seats since the purchaser doesn’t know whether it’s been involved in an accident or the age of the seat. Used car seats typically don’t include the owner’s manual or registration card.
Any car seat with a child in it during a crash must be replaced for safety reasons, she added.
Both on and off the job, Barriga, who underwent a 40-hour class on child safety seats, works to spread the dangers of counterfeit car seats and improper installation of authorized child safety seats.
Shopping at a big-box store, Barriga said she spotted a dad with a child in an unauthorized car seat, prompting her to initiate a conversation about the dangers of using it in a motor vehicle.
When a driver with children shows up at the CHP office to get a fix-it ticket signed off, Barriga said she offers to check the safety seat “because 90% of the time they’re not installed properly or the child’s not sitting in it properly.”
“We’re trying to spread the word to keep our kids safe,” she added.
CHP offices provide car seat inspections by appointment to ensure proper installation and use. To set up an appointment, call the CHP office in Santa Barbara at 805.770.4800 or in Santa Maria at 805.608.6310.
California law states that children under 2 years of age must ride in a rear-facing car seat unless the child weighs 40 or more pounds or is 40 or more inches tall.
Children under the age of 8 must be secured in a car seat or booster seat in the back seat. Children who are 8 years of age or have reached 4 feet, 9 inches in height may be secured by a booster seat, but at a minimum must be secured by a safety belt.
For information on California laws regarding child safety seat use, click here. More details on child car seat safety can be found here on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website.
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