Oregon car seat safety advocates are alarmed that fewer than 50 percent of parents returned registration cards on their car seat purchases to alert them of recalls, according to a report released last month by Safe Kids Worldwide.

Of further concern is fewer than half of the 6 million car seats recalled last year got the necessary repairs, the report said.

Safety advocates want to remind parents of the importance of registering car seats with their manufacturers, regardless of whether they’re new or hand-me-downs.

People who don’t register the devices are banking on learning of recalls in the media or from friends or coworkers — but that’s not always a safe bet.

A majority of recalls are smaller and less public than when Britax sent notices about more than 200,000 car seats due to a possible safety defect that causes their harnesses to loosen, said Yvonne McNeil, community traffic safety program coordinator for Oregon Impact, a nonprofit that educates about vehicle safety.

“There are a lot of smaller recalls that people just never hear about,” she said.

The good news is even if you threw away that card or never received it because your car seat is from your friend or sister-in-law, you can still register the device with its manufacturer. All you need is the model number and the date it was made; both are listed right on the seat.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also maintains a website that contains all recalls that occurred within the past decade. It allows users to search by manufacturer.

Types of recalls

Kathy Kruger, executive director of the Washington State Safety Restraint Coalition, said when it comes to car seat safety, she tries to preach a level-headed message that won’t overwhelm people. If there is a recall, she said, find out what it is and whether you can continue using the car seat before you receive the new piece to fix the safety issue.

In the case of the recent Britax recall, for example, some parents were so scared the car seats would fail they replaced the more-than-$300 devices without learning about the problem, Kruger said. Those who responded to the recall notice were simply sent small bottles of lubricant that easily solved the problem.

Some recalls are as simple as incorrect font size on a label or a piece a child could pick off that would present a choking hazard, Kruger said. Others are more serious.

“Some of them are for things that are really, truly safety issues, where a child could be injured if that situation doesn’t get taken care of,” she said.

There are a number of reasons parents don’t return the registration cards on their car seats. A big one is that they’re afraid of ending up on a mailing list and getting junk mail from manufacturers. Good news, though: They won’t.

“If they use your information incorrectly, the government will slap them with a fine,” Kruger said.

Another possibility: They forget. After all, they’re new parents who clearly have other things on their minds.

“A warranty card now pretty much comes with everything,” said Janelle Lawrence, executive director of Oregon Impact, “and so maybe it just kind of falls through the cracks and they think it’s not that important — but it really is.”

Know your seat’s history

Much like helmets, most car seats can’t be used after they’ve been in a crash.

During a car accident, the seat’s straps stretch, something they’ll do only once, McNeil said. And even if the car seat looks perfectly fine, it could have broken parts inside.

That’s why, McNeil and other safety advocates say, it’s of utmost importance to know the history of the car seat you’re using. If you didn’t get it new, be sure to ask whoever you get it from whether it’s been in an accident.

“Do you really trust the person you’re buying that from with your child’s life?” McNeil said.

If you don’t know its history, McNeil said to buy a new one right away. And although some unscrupulous thrift stores may sell used car seats, safety advocates advise against buying them there. Some consignment stores sell them, but before buying one at such a store, be sure to ask whether it was purchased from the original owner and whether it’s been in a crash, Kruger said.

Part of McNeil’s job is to perform car seat checks for families to show them how to properly put in the seats, take out the seats and use the seats — and, for that matter, whether they’re the right seats for their kids.

“Our clinics are almost like a well-baby check-up for your car seat,” she said.

It’s an intensive process that takes an average of 45 minutes and starts with checking the car seat manual and making sure it’s compatible with the car’s manual, McNeil said. Some cars require certain types of car seats. This is something McNeil recommends people do even if they don’t go to a car seat check-up.

Is your belt locked?

One of the most common — and dangerous — mistakes parents make is they don’t actually lock the seat belt, which means the car seat is not locked either, McNeil said. (Adults commonly don’t lock their seat belts. If you can easily lean forward and grab something off the floor, it’s because your seat belt is not locked.) To do this, go into the back seat of the vehicle and pull the seat belt all the way out. In most cars, the belt will make a ratcheting noise when you start letting it back in. That means it’s locked. The seats of some cars also feature locking clips, she said.

It’s very common to come across car seats that are expired, McNeil said. Car seats expire between six to 10 years after they’re made. That’s because, like a garbage bin that becomes discolored from sitting out in the sun, plastic breaks down over time, she said. It’s also a good idea to replace expired models because newer, safer ones are available, McNeil said.

Although Oregon law requires kids be rear facing in their car seats until they’re 1 year old, McNeil said it is safer for children to be rear facing until they’re at least 2 years old and as old as 4 years old — so long as they have not outgrown the car seat’s height and weight limits. Similarly, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends kids remain rear facing until they’re at least 2 or until they reach the height and weight limits set by the car seat’s manufacturer.

The reason kids should stay rear facing is because most impacts come from behind, McNeil said. If that happens, a rear-facing child will be pushed into the car seat, whereas a front-facing child will have his or her head snapped forward, resulting in internal decapitation, in some cases, she said.

“You should always stay rear facing for as long as possible because it’s safer,” she said.

Parents often point out that puts their child at increased risk of breaking his or her legs, but, McNeil counters, better the legs than the neck.

At the end of the day, car seat safety is all about mitigating risk, McNeil said.

“A child can always die in a crash,” she said, “but everything we do takes away a little bit more of that risk.”

— Reporter: 541-383-0304, tbannow@bendbulletin.com