[azalia]

Hi there,

I wanted to anchor our booster seat in just for the weekend as we're going on a long drive but I've just noticed it says 'do not use anchor/tether if using seatbelt'. Can anyone tell me why this is? Wouldn't it make the seat safer to anchor it and use a seatbelt?

Thank you.

[lsolaBella]

What seat do you have?

By law (ie Australian Standards) any seat which has a mass greater then 2 kgs has to be tethered. Generally only foam boosters and half boosters do not have this (new infa folding traveller is exception).

Eta: if you have been using booster seat you should have had it anchored all this time.

This post has been edited by lsolaBella: 20/11/2012, 03:56 PM

[azalia]

Hi Isobella,

Thanks for your reply, I have the britax hiliner, which is foam, I've been using it in the third row of my car that doesn't have an anchor point because it is almost impossible to do up the boosters seat belt with two other seats along side it. I just did it then for the school run and have skinned my knuckles it took me 10 minutes to try to get the seat belt in. I think I'll have to move it back to the 3rd row.

But back to the original question, why does it say to not use a seatbelt with anchor?

[lsolaBella]

Hi liner is not foam it is a plastic booster. Foam booster would be an urban or Pegasus.

The foam ones do not come with tether points.

[lsolaBella]

Can you give me model number and what page from instructions you are reading?

[Nofliesonme]

The safe n sound hiliner is not foam it is plastic if it has a tether strap. And unless you have a lap sash seat belt inthe centre this seat shouldn't be in the centre without a h harness which is tethered. Either way that seat should be anchored all the time. To your question mine doesn't say that. Oh sorry third row. My bad

[azalia]

Thank you for your replies. I find all this a bit confusing.

It is a brand new Hiliner, all I could find is this HI-LINER SG PHANTOM. When you said about the manual though, I got it out too and I think I may have been mistaken, it says in there do not use seatbelt with a versa tether, I had never heard of this or used it but I just googled it and think its something else for floor tethering, not normal tethering.

Ok, so I can anchor it then. Thats good, thank you:) I have now just seen threads about seat belt extenders which could eliminate the problem Im having bucking up the booster seat, but there are mixed reviews about them being safe. Is it going to be safer using seat belt extenders to a booster in the middle seat second row or having a non tethered booster seat in the third row?

And yes, it is a lap sash belt to the middle seat second row. New car, airbags and proper seats to the third row, though of course not as much space for protection in rear impact crash.

[pumpkin89]

Just come back from seat shopping (moving DD1 up when DD3 arrives in April). My understanding is if it has a tether strap / anchor point you must use it, as PP said due to weight issues with chair. Went into baby shop looking for a foam (no tether) seat, as one of our cars doens't have a third anchor point. Was told that these were now illegal in QLD and had to buy the (more expensive) hard plastic seat with anchor point. Was also told at the same time that if a lap only belt is to be used (which is our car in the middle too) then a harness must be used, and these harnesses attach to the strap which then attaches to the anchor point. Dubious that she was just trying to "upsell" me, I checked with the department of transport and was told that all of the above is correct!

[lsolaBella]

No PP you have been told a furfy. There are even new plastic folding booster seats which have no anchor point (infa traveller folding booster).
Even half booster seats are still legal. A legal seat must have an Aust stds sticker.

Yes if there is a lap only belt a booster seat must be used with an add on harness which requires an anchor point..... This has always been a requirement.

No I would not use a seatbelt ectender. Also it actually is not a legal use of your seat to use it in the rear row without an anchor point anchoring.

This post has been edited by lsolaBella: 20/11/2012, 06:39 PM

[azalia]

Yes, Pumpkin that is correct, and a H-harness is not as safe as a seatbelt. the whole thing drives me nuts, because there is so much varying info floating around and it is something that should be clear and simple but it is not.

I am trying to do the safest thing for our family and it is frustrating that there are not more car options available considering the new laws force you to use car seats for all children under 7 and there are many familys with 3 kids under 7 requiring car seats.

When I went shopping for a booster seat for DS1, I went to 5 different shops, looking for options as I knew I would likely put it into the third row. The kmart foam booster has massive wings and the seatbelt will not fit nicely around the seat, It looks ridiculously unsafe. So I took it back. Then I bought the hipod I think, or another one similar and it didnt have the anitsubmarine clip. So I ended up buying the hiliner as this came with the antisubmarine clip and is reviewed very safe.

Aside from the risks of the booster being in the car non tethered in the event of an accident and it flying around wouldnt it be safer to use the plastic better booster with an antisubmarine clip opposed to a foam booster? I am going off saftey first, not the legalities.