HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — The Tampa Police Department is warning families about a concerning uptick in counterfeit car seats. Police said the seats are often sold online and can look legitimate, but do not meet federal safety standards. These counterfeit seats could put your children at risk.
Safety experts said one of the most concerning parts of this is that the counterfeit car seats can look almost identical to real ones.
WATCH full report by Keely McCormick
The way you can confirm your child's seat is compliant with U.S. safety standards starts with the label.
"Looking at the labels over here on the car seat. It will have warnings. It will have the child's weight and height listed and it will say here on the bottom of this seat is that it meets the federal motor vehicle safety standard,” said Petra Stanton with Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital.
The key phrase that your seat needs to say is that it meets “Federal motor vehicle safety standards.”
The label should also include height and weight limits, a model number, manufacturing date, and expiration date.
“Another red flag is if there are spelling errors on any of the labels,” Stanton said.
Two local hospitals in the Tampa Bay region said the rise in counterfeit seats is creating a dangerous situation for families across Florida.
"We’ve seen a car seat that was made for a doll that had not been approved by safety standards that a family brought to the hospital,” said Stanton.
Gina Baez is a BayCare Kids Wellness and Safety Specialist.
“A sweet couple… first child and they were gifted a counterfeit car seat at their baby shower,” said Baez.
Both local hospitals said to double-check your car seats.
- Click here for a list of reputable car seat brands.
- Click here to find BayCare Kids car safety seat inspections.
- Click here for car seat safety checks from Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital.
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