The vest is a seat belt positioning device which means that the fit of the vest on the child is less important than the positioning of the seat belt on the child. The seat belt is doing the restraining (when using the lap/shoulder belt) not the vest.
- Even if the vest is loose on the child, as long as the seat belt is low on the hips/lap and the shoulder portion is mid chest/mid shoulder then we are accomplishing the desired outcome.
- The weight limits on the vest are less relevant than height. FMVSS 213 requires that they include weight in the specs but it does not really play into how the vest functions (unless you are using a lap-only belt with the tether).
- If the “lap flap” is starting to be pulled from a horizontal orientation into a vertical one then it is time to move up to the large. The large will likely be loose at first but based on the understanding above that “looseness” does not negatively affect crash performance you can feel confident that your little ones are still protected.
Sometimes it’s best to see, so check this how-to video to see when it is time to move up to the next size RideSafer.
