How much does it cost to import. I saw the Radian on US website for ~310.
I unfortunately need to upgrade our family car to fit a Radian though, but the company car (which i should do most of my driving in) should have LATCH.
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How much does it cost to import. I saw the Radian on US website for ~310.
I unfortunately need to upgrade our family car to fit a Radian though, but the company car (which i should do most of my driving in) should have LATCH.
theres some on ebay for au$440 including delivery.
how do you know if your car has latch?
That's why Im now looking for one that has the little clip thingy so the belt doenst cut too high up as well as the submarine clip between their legs.:
ds1 just doesn't seem to sit right in the maxi rider with the adult seat belt. it doesn't look like it cuts across his shoulder in the right place iykwim?
Must go look up the Radian - why is it so good compared to what we have here????
Ok have had a look - TBH I can't see what is so different about than the ones mentioned earlier??? The weights almost marry up to ours as far as how long you can use them as a forward facing then booster, (20kgs vs 18kgs) but other than that I couldn't really see a difference? Am I missing something?!
Submarine clip between the legs? Isn't that the red clip that goes at the point where the seat belt clips in? (yes now I am truly confused lol)
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Yeah it is hun, as far as I can tell it hooks the lap part between their legs as you do it up - some have it some don't!
I just did some googling Tan and it seems to indicate there is the attachment between the legs or in the case of the infa-secure we have it's the little 'handles' (as I call it) that the seat belt is threaded through with the clip.
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DD is 3.5 nearly, 21kgs and 110cms and she still fits in the Maxi AHR. The straps are in the highest holes and are still ok and the headrest is nearly up as far as it can go but not totally. I'm going to keep her in till she is just to big. I guess you have to then use a seat with the lap belt and anti submarine clip?
the radian is Rear facing up to 4 years or 45lbs. Australia has no seat on the market comparable. Most are maximum 12kg RF which a lot of babes seem to reach by 12-18m:
Latch/isofix has recently been approved but the gist is that it will take 12 months to draft the legislation etc so although its coming its still illegal to import.
thanks! i just looked up latch installation and the video (though american) sais latch has been standard since '03 in new model cars. mine is '01 so i would imagine it doesn't have it but i will check everntually. The company car is '11 but there is no guarantee it has it either, i am just really hoping. i feel really uncomfortable about turning DD FF now that i have done more research.:
Apparently isofix will be legalized early next year here
The Radian allows the RF - there are NO seats on the Australian market that allow such extended RF.
It is also steel framed, something else I haven't found in any Australian seat (someone correct me if I am wrong, but I haven't been able to find one).
The Radian can also be fitted with the anchor strap and 3 point belt, just like any Australian seat. You can look up online if your car has LATCH/ISOFIX, but most new cars do, certainly models sold overseas do like most European brands. You can also call the dealership and ask them. You don't need it for a Radian though.
The Radian is around $300 depending on retailer, plus anywhere between $160-$200 to ship it.
Thanks so much for posting this thread Tanstar! Little bit off topic but we just installed DS's booster using a H harness.. I had NO idea they are not recommended. I was like "I want him to be really safe" and the lady in the shop sold us a H harness. I just looked on the website for the brand and even it says "DO NOT use when a lap sash belt is available" Ekk! It is being removed from the seat today.
That's ok Hun! We have learnt heaps too and are getting closer to what we want! RF doesn't affect us as DD is nearly 5 and DS will be 4 in Oct, but lots if food for thought.
the radian also allows you to continue using the 5 point harness to a higher weight. i don't want ds1 to be rear facing, but i would like him to be in a steel framed seat with 5 point harness. i feel this would be safer than a badly sitting adult seat belt on the maxi rider itms?
jakabella- your dd's weight is too high for the 5 point harness in the maxi rider.
I am an importer. One Radian XTSL and a Britax Max-Way arriving next week hopefully. It is not illegal to import a seat, it is illegal to use it. Consequences for using an imported seat are points off your license and a fine if the police officer knows what they're looking at when you are pulled over. Some insurance companies won't replace the seat due to theft or damage, some don't ask about what seat or where it came from they just send a cheque. Some people have had success getting extra insurance for their imported seat. Some people worry about medical insurance in the event of an accident. There is no straight yes or no answer for this, not that I or others, who have done a lot of looking can find. No one has been denied medical cover after an accident when they have misused an Australian approved seat, so I can't see why it would be different for an imported seat *but this is my personal conclusion when it comes to medical cover*
If you have a small car and are looking at a Radian for extended rear-facing It is a huge seat, very good seat, but huge and this is why we're getting the Max-way it's more compact and will allow us to have front passengers over 5"3 :)
I get so excited when I see all these awesome parents talking about car seat safety! :D
Like a pp mentioned the Radian will allow you to harness forward-facing up to 36kgs rear-facing to 20kgs so it will keep your LO harnessed for la long time.
Willow - the medical insurance would be my biggest concern. TBH I couldn't care less about losing some points or even copping a fine if a policeman by some miracle knew that my kids' carseats weren't approved, but it would worry me enormously that God forbid we were in a horrible accident and my girls were injured that we wouldn't have their medical costs taken care of. You would hope that the right thing is done, but we all know how insurance companies love those loopholes.
Just another one of those decisions for all us parents to try and balance what is safe enough while doing the very best we can IYKWIM. I don't think any of us are happy with going with a "yeah, it'll do" kind of approach. We have spent weeks discussing car seats for our growing family and its been really tough to come to a decision. Doesn't help when you get people making comments like "Why do you worry so much about it. When you were a baby we just put you in the bassinet on the back seat. You were lucky if we did the seat belt up around it"
I really hate those comments too! :wall: Yeah well we survived so why take advantage of all the safety improvements these days and just hope for the best :rolleyes::
Just on the loop hole thing with medical insurance(there are definitely plenty of them!) But the medical cover isn't through your car insurance. It's through your car rego. So your compulsory third party part, nothing to do with your car's cover, it's different. So if you want to check on it in that respect it's probably better to contact your states road user service, but I don't think they really have had to deal with that enquiry so it's hard to get a definite answer.
For us the benefit of the seat giving better protection and therefore less risk of serious injuries, or minor with extended rear-facing too won over the risk of more chance of injuries, major and minor forward-facing so we went with importing. By no means an easy decision either!! Kind of like you're damned if you do damned if you don't. With the medical side, I can't imagine the hospital waiting to give treatment after an accident to see what type of car seat the injured child was in. I would think that the treatment would be received, which is the most important thing. If for some reason after the fact, there was a dispute about cover of costs, I'd rather know I did what I thought was best with the seat and deal with paying off any costs for the rest of my life, rather than going with an Aussie seat forward-facing earlier than I was comfortable with, and having a seriously injured or worse, fatally injured child. So that's how I came to the decision to import. I don't push for anyone else to import, that's just why I did, and I completely understand why others don't. It's one of those really tough ones!