- Read your car seat manual, and the seat belt, car seat, and air bag sections in your vehicle manual. We can not reinforce this enough!
- Install with either UAS or seat belt, not both (unless told to in your car seat’s manual).
- Read your vehicle manual to make sure it’s okay to install a car seat in the spot you want it, using UAS or seat belt (you often can’t use UAS in the centre).
- The centre is sometimes thought to be the safest seating position, but a solid outboard installation trumps a poor/incompatible/impossible centre installation every time.
- NEVER install a rear facing car seat in front of an active airbag.
- There is a weight limit when installing with UAS. Find out what it is for your vehicle and child restraint, and after that, install with the seat belt.
- If installing with a seat belt, it must LOCK in some way: at the retractor, at the latch plate, with a locking clip, or with built-in lock-offs on the car seat.
- Seat must have 1” or less of movement at the belt path.
- Check that you’re using the correct belt path (separate ones for rear and forward facing).
- By law, you MUST top tether to an APPROVED anchor point when forward facing.
- Never use a car seat or booster seat that is:
- expired
- recalled and not fixed
- crashed if it requires replacement after any crash
- damaged
- Be very wary when buying a used seat – you are trusting the previous owner with your child’s life
- Tighten the harness enough so you can’t pinch a horizontal fold at the collarbone
- Chest clip must be at armpit level
- Don’t over dress your child – use thin warm layers (like fleece) and cover with blankets. Bulky clothing can result in your child being ejected in a crash.
- Remove projectiles from the vehicle, and tie down or stow anything that you wouldn’t throw at your child’s face.
- Get your installation checked by a certified technician. Find a tech near you.