Manufacturers frequently recall child and infant safety car seats, according to the Department of Public Safety's Highway Safety Office. More than 350 different models have been recalled in 12 years.
What people don't realize, though, is that all car seats made before 1992 are considered unsafe and potentially hazardous.The most recent recall, announced earlier this month involved 800,000 Evenflo "On My Way" infant carriers because of a faulty latch.
But sometimes seats are unsafe not because of a design defect but rather due to the march of time.
Extreme temperatures like those experienced in Utah are one just one factor that led to the recommendation by the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association that seats be retired after six years, according to Kristy Rigby of the Highway Safety Office.
"With the extreme heat and cold, like we have, the plastic on the car seats tend to break down when exposed to that," she said. "There are a lot of different reasons we don't recommend using the (older) seats. Most manufacturers say five or six years. Some say 10 years.
"If they're taken really good care of, maybe. But most of the ones I've seen, I wouldn't be using."
Over time, heat, sunlight and cold can break down the components of the seat so "it doesn't withstand the forces of an accident as it's supposed to. And manufacturers don't support the seats that they've made that are older than six to eight years. They stop testing them."said Shauna Sloan of Kid to Kid, a string of shops specializing in infant and children's products, both new and used.
On Feb. 10, Utah's 10 Kid to Kid stores launched a car seat safety campaign to help parents recognize car seats that aren't safe. Through March, people can take their old car seat to any Kid to Kid store and have it inspected by a trained buyer. In return, the parents will get a free car seat safety newsletter with information on the correct way to use a car seat. The store will exchange unsafe car seats for a bounty packet worth more than $100 in coupons, and the seat will be destroyed. The Utah Highway Safety Department is co-sponsoring the event.
The buyers who inspect the seats first compare the model numbers and makes with a comprehensive recall list from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. (Those with no stickers showing dates and models are considered unsafe because "there's no way a new owner could register as the owner of that seat and no way to tell exactly how old they are," Sloan said.)
Seven of 10 seats they have inspected were found to be unsafe.
The buyers, who decide what's safe, go through special car seat safety training twice a year, provided by the Utah Highway Safety Department.