I've got a question about car seat tethers I'm hoping a more experienced dad can answer for me.

I have a car from 2001 that the dealer can install upper tether anchors in, but lower tethers are not an option. We've been using our other car as the sole baby shuttle, and since the baby is, well, a baby, we haven't had any experience with upper tethers yet.

So, my question is, would upper tethers alone be useful/safe when our daughter is old enough to need them, or is it just a bad idea to transport her in that vehicle?

(Full Disclosure: The vehicle in question is a German sports car that is in danger of being replaced by a Versa or something similar if I can't convince the wife that it's a safe ride for our little one.)

We do not have lower tethers for our car seat. With the seat "rear facing" only the seat belt was used, following mfg directions. And we actually had a virtual head on collision and all was aok.

When the time came to go forward facing, our 2001 Outback has the upper tethers. I felt perfectly safe with the upper tethers coupled with the seat belt. (again, following mfg directions).

We have now moved on to the "booster" with the back rest which really just puts his body in a position to use the seat belt safely. It's weird because the booster is just floppin' around when he's not in it(it's not attached to the car), which is the exact opposite of a "car seat" which is mounted as rigid as you can get it, then the kid is strapped to the car seat.

I would speculate that your 2001 car is aok. But I have a feeling you don't want your wife to read that. Newer cars are definitely going to be safer in MANY MANY ways.

If, say, one could let me borrow this possibly unsafe sports car for something like a month, I'm sure I could manage to drop in at Dorel (Safety1st, Eddie Bauer baby stuff, Cosco) down the street, where they have a car seat safety lab. You can make a reservation and their technicians will evaluate your installation of any car seat and help you get it installed optimally or recommend fixes.

Mine are all installed "perfectly" so I haven't had a reason to visit them. But if having your car for the autumn would be a great reason for me to see their facility!

Enjoy the Versa!

You could also post to Car-Seat.org with your car seat and vehicle information. The site is frequented by car seat pros, installation techs and car seat instructors. I hear that they'll be able to help with installing pretty much any car seat in pretty much any car.