Are integrated child safety seats as good as safety seats bought separately?

Are integrated child safety seats as good as safety seats bought separately?

Stephanie Tombrello (Child Passenger Safety Educator & Executive Director, SafetyBeltSafe USA) gives expert video advice on: Are integrated child safety seats as good as safety seats bought separately? and more...

Safety seats are as safe as the way you use them. All safety seats for sale in the United States have to meet the same crash tests and they have to be certified to meet the same federal standards. Whether they're integrated into the car or whether they're add-on safety seats. So the integrated seat may be safer, because it's attached to the vehicle and the parent does not have to install it. But on the other hand, if the parent doesn't snug up the harness properly, or doesn't use the safety seat the way it's supposed to be used, then of course you can have the same problems of misuse as an add-on safety seat.