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Tether Straps & Fitting |
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Tether Strap & Bolt
A tether strap is factory standard on a large number of car seats these days. Their primary purpose is to reduce impact forces to your child's head and neck during an accident. It also stops the seat from moving too far forward in an accident. Note: Tether straps are not required under UK standard.
Where can I get a bolt fitted?
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A tether strap comes out of the car seat back, near the top of the shell, it reduces head excursion - the distance the child's head moves during an impact - as the seat is limited by the strapping, so too is the child's head.
The tether strap is part of the standards attached to your child's car seat. This means the seat was tested with the strap and therefore is it part of the seat and the manufacturer and standards testing authority expect that, as per the instructions, that the seat will be used correctly, this therefore includes using the tether strap at all times.
There are two types of tether strap, the most common is the "Dual" strap, attached to all Safe-n-Sound car seats made since 1998, and the single strap fitted to American car seats sold under NZ "S" 1754 standard. Seats sold under the UK standard do not require a top tether strap. All tether straps are an adjustable strap, with a single hook on the end.
Without the tether being connected your child's seat moves more than a seat installed with the tether, taking with it your child's head and neck. This movement adds greater pressure onto your child's neck and spine during an accident. Injuries from this kind of stress could result in long term disability and in some cases is fatal as the spinal cord may tear or detach from the spine.
The natural movement for a person in an accident of high speed and force is to from the brace position, head down, arms in and knees drawn in towards the body. As you can see from the image above (left side) the arms are thrown outwards, the legs are straight out in front of the crash test dummy.
What the image above does not show is rebound, this is when the seat and person travel backwards once the motion of the vehicle has stopped. The image to the left has a much greater rebound distance. This dummy would be likely to suffer from whiplash and possible head and neck injuries.
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A tether bolt is the connector to which your tether strap connects. Older cars have a bolt installed in the rear of the car, while new cars have a small bar fitted to the back of the rear seat.
If your car does not come with a tether bolt you will need to install one. This can be done by yourself or by a mechanic. The bolt must be secured to a strong part of the vehicles chassis.
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Black connector plate to which the tether strap hook connects. Bolt and nut to secure tether bolt to the car. 2 different sized spacers used when the bolt needs to sit higher up. Bolt reinforcement plate to be used in cars that do not have pre-drilled holes. |
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Some cars have a tether bolt near to the boot, and others are placed on the interior roof. |
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Car seat tethered to the inside of the boot on a classic style tether hook (above). |
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To get a tether bolt fitted is inexpensive, and needs to be done only once per car seat. Once the bolts are in your car, you do not need to install them again.
There is a list of bolt installers below, or click here. If you know an installer, email us with their details and we will add them below.
Above image shows where to drill a hole on the parcel tray in the back window of a sedan if not pre-fitted with tether bolts and no holes have been drilled, check under rubber or plastic bungs for pre-drilled holes. Top right shows installation for cars without pre-installed bolts. It is important to ensure the washer is fitted at the bottom of the bolt as this prevents the bolt from pulling through in an accident. Opposite image shows how to install a bolt into a pre-drilled hole. The washer and nut are not required. There is a nut fitted on the underside of the hole. |
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It is vital that bolts be installed in the correct place. They must pass through the metal structure of the cars chassis. In a sedan the bolts can pass through the parcel tray, but must pass through metal as well as the wooden panel and fabric covering.
In station wagons and vans the bolts can be installed in a wider range of places this includes the floor and the roof. Never attach your child's car seat tether to cargo hooks, they are not designed to hold the forces of a car crash and may detach from the vehicle in an accident.
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Make sure you do not use cargo hooks as tether bolts as they are not strong enough to hold your child and seat during an accident (above). |
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Contact us to be added to this list if you install tether bolts.
Please click your area to display the list of installers.
Northland
| Auckland Seatbelts (Mobile Service) Ph: 027 273 8802 Fax: 09 529 7586 |
Metro Motor Holdings Ltd 26 Greenpark Road Penrose Ph: 09 571 2501 |
| Auckland Seatbelts (Mobile Service) Ph: 027 273 8802 Fax: 09 529 7586 |
MSS Automotive & Compliance Ltd 8 Thomson Park Road Mt Wellington Ph: 09 579 1197 |
| Auto-Belts Ltd - MTA 1 Maurice Road Penrose Auckland Ph: 09 525 3214 |
Safer Seatbelts 184 Great South Road Takanini Ph: 09 296 1144 0800 SEATBELTS (732 823) |
| Auto Lab 203 Lincon Road Henderson Ph: 09 837 0600 |
The Seatbelt Centre Mighty Garage Ltd 17 Industry Road Penrose Ph: 09 525 3627 |
| Baby Boltz 110 Lauderdale Road Birkdale North Shore City 09 483 3428 |
Seatbelt Specialists 5 Silverfield Road Glenfield 0800 GO SAFE (467 233) |
| Barry Clarke Automotive 8 Burns street Grey Lynn Ph: 09 360 8888 www.barryclarkeautomotive.net.nz |
Tetley Wheaton Automotive Ltd 159 Apirana Avenue Glen Innes Ph: 09 528 7867 |
| Fast Track Automotive Automotive compliance Centre 575 Great South Road Penrose Ph: 09 579 9352 |
Waikato
Hawkes Bay
Manawatu
Wellington
Nelson
Christchurch
Canterbury
Blenheim
Invercargill
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!!Never leave the tether strap/hook hanging freely on your child's car seat the hook could strike your child during an accident and cause major injury.
!!Always use the tether point/bolt directly behind your child's seat. Using a bolt that is not behind the seat could cause the seat to tip over during an accident or sudden stop and could injure your child.
!!When buying an extension strap for your child's seat if the tether is too short purchase a 300 mm strap first. There are very few situations when more length is needed.
!!If you own a hatch back and the centre seat has a split between the rear seats you must not place a tethered seat, or child harness in this position. Please ensure your seat and tether bolt is on the right or left hand side of the rear seat. (Behind the driver (right) is the safest position).