Op here, thanks everyone.
We are taking our own seat, The britax roundabout, its quite small so should fit in a car RF ok. We are not renting a car, we will be in family cars.

If you are renting a car, make sure that the insurance will cover you if you are using a non-UK approved seat. Many won't, and in the US, the insurance will not cover you if you are using a non-US regulated car seat.

The chest clip is to keep the shoulder harness on the child's shoulders during a crash. It is a pre-crash positioner. It will and should break in a crash.

The seats in Europe and Australia are different than in the US. Some seats, like the Australian seats have a 6 point harness, instead of the 5 point harness. (it is two separate crotch straps in case you are wondering what the sixth point could possibly be). The Canadian seats have had top tethers since model year 1989. The tether anchor have been required in the us since model year 2000. Swedish seats Rf for practically ever and then they go into boosters. Kids forward face earlier in the Uk.

The seats all have good points an bad points. Fit is definitely emphasized in this country because a seat that does fit the child doesn't protect the child. No one country has consistently "better" law in terms of manufacturing safe seats.

If you take your own seat, it might not fit and the rental car people can be clueless. Many country have Isofix (what we call LATCH), but not all. Many countries do not have switchable seat belts, so be prepared and bring your looking clip!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IME the US has more stringent seat regs than other parts of the English speaking world. I've traveled with my kind in the UK and in Australia, and they both have lower minimum ages for things like moving to FF,moving to the booster, and getting out of the car seat altogether.

But look at how the US rates their car seats. Not by actual safety/crash tests. Just by fit.

The UK recently lifted compulsory booster seat age - beyond the US.

Not sure what you mean by "rating" car seats?

And I didn't know that about the boosters. In Australia, kids can face forward at 6 mos, and at 9 in the UK. I thought there were some US jurisdictions requiring 2 years?

Anonymous wrote:IME the US has more stringent seat regs than other parts of the English speaking world. I've traveled with my kind in the UK and in Australia, and they both have lower minimum ages for things like moving to FF,moving to the booster, and getting out of the car seat altogether.

But look at how the US rates their car seats. Not by actual safety/crash tests. Just by fit.

The UK recently lifted compulsory booster seat age - beyond the US.

IME the US has more stringent seat regs than other parts of the English speaking world. I've traveled with my kind in the UK and in Australia, and they both have lower minimum ages for things like moving to FF,moving to the booster, and getting out of the car seat altogether.

PP again: one other thing; we ended up asking the avis lady to help us get the car seat in - it just seemed different and we couldn't get it to fit - wouldn't want you to go there with you own seat, realzie it didn't "quite" work and then the car rental people might not be able to fit it either... just a thought

we were in spain for 2 weeks with our 18 month old and rented a car seat with our car. seemed super safe to us. i cna't recall the chest strap thing, but as a pp mentioned, you can just buy the clippy thing to cinch it together instead of lugging your whole seat.

They're there to avoid the child sliding their arms out while you drive and they're supposed to be up the chest so the child doesn't get hurt in Ann accident if its too low it can perforate their tummy.

I have no idea why but I don't think it gives a better fit. I get a good fit with and without the chest clip. It does help with a child sliding their arms through the straps to escape. That is the only advantage I see.

I would take your seats to have them on the plane but if someone there is buying seats don't worry about it. Their seats are just as good, some better.

Anonymous wrote:Op here, so im wondering, does that plastic piece keep them in the seat any better in an accident? if not, why do we have it?

PP here. I think it gives a better fit, but at the expense of not being able to get a kid out quickly.

Have you noticed that the US car seat safety ratings are based pretty much solely on seatbelt fit? You cannot get information on how well the seats actually stand up to accidents (which you do get information on in other countries). It's a big problem, I think. Most parents think they're getting a carseat with a top rating for safety, but it's really just a top rating for how well it positions a seatbelt (at least for the booster seats).

Op here, so im wondering, does that plastic piece keep them in the seat any better in an accident? if not, why do we have it?

I have lived in the UK and Australia, as well as the US, so I know the differences in car seats well. Actually, the bit across the chest is deemed as unsafe in those countries because, in an emergency, it is difficult to get the kid out of the seat. You'll find the seats in the UK (particularly Britax) have one red button that easily gets the kid out in an emergency. Overall, I found the safety features of the car seats were better in the UK and Australia. Here there seems to be a concentration on fit (which is obviously important) but less regard for other factors.

You can take yours and use it no issue. The chest strap is not an issue. They are designed differently where there is no need. We have a European seat and love it. Their safety standards for seats are far better and depending on the country, they take it very seriously. The clip has nothing to do with safety for the seat. Do not let that concern you (though if you are using a US seat, it does need to be positioned properly). If you want a clip on the straps, you can buy a clip to put on the seat - Evenflo sells their clips separately.

We are travelling to England shortly and plan on taking our US carseat because it seems safer. The English ones don't have a piece across the chest like ours do. ( 5 point harness)
Does anyone know why the Europeans consider this safe when we are so anal about it being tight across their chests.
Their products are generally held to a higher standard that ours so im baffled.