TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Tucson Medical Center (TMC) is spreading awareness about a growing trend that’s resulted in parents putting their children in counterfeit car seats. The car seats are purchased off of third-party sites for a cheap price, but they are not built for child safety.
Clinical staff at TMC are seeing an uptick in fake car seats. That’s according to Jessica Mitchell, a child passenger safety technician and program manager at TMC.
“The first giveaway that our nurses notice is that there's no test clip on the harnesses of the car seats. However, that doesn't always mean they're," Mitchell said. "They could just be from a different country. And so, then they start just noticing like, you know, the stickers don't look right, there's grammatical issues in the stickers.
Mitchell says the fake car seats look real, but are missing key pieces like a chest strap or the manufacturing information.
“Every car seat will have the make, the model, the manufacturer, and a phone number to contact them. This is not found on fake car seats," said Mitchell.
The cost of a car seat ranges from $50 to $600, and on third-party sites the prices are cut in half.
Mom of three Renise Rodriguez is dedicated to car seat safety.
“For me, it's a big deal because god forbid anything happens out on the street, I can rest in knowing that I did everything in my, you know, in my power to keep them safe on the road," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez took the extra step by trading in her Toyota RAV4 for a Honda Odyssey to ensure maximum safety for her kids.
“It just became my homework, you know, through my pregnancy to really do my research and find the car seat that was gonna work well in my car, and that was gonna be the right fit for my family," Rodriguez.
To avoid fake car seats, it’s recommended you buy from a reputable website or visit a store in-person. Help is available if you want your car seat inspected.
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Jacqueline Aguilar is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9. Born and raised in Yuma, AZ., she is no stranger to the unforgiving Arizona heat. Now this U of A wildcat is excited to be back in Tucson and is looking forward to involving herself in the community. Share your story ideas with Jacqueline by emailing jacqueline.aguilar@kgun9.com or connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
