The Hercules Small Reha Booster Seat by Thomashilfen is now available to buy in Canada, “marking an important milestone in expanding access to specialized child passenger safety solutions for families and caregivers across the country,” the manufacturer told Mobility Management on Dec. 16.
Darlene Hawthorne, Thomashilfen’s president of North America, added that the company worked for years to ensure the Hercules Small Reha Booster Seat meets Canada’s safety requirements for motor vehicle restraint systems as developed and enforced by Transport Canada via the Motor Vehicle Restraint Systems and Booster Seats Safety Regulations (RSSR).
Travis Lockwood, an inspector and senior compliance engineer for Transport Canada, told Mobility Management, “The RSSR specifies administrative, labeling, installation instructions and Canada Motor Vehicle Safety testing requirements for all prescribed classes of restraint systems or booster seats, including custom and production restraint systems for disabled persons. While Transport Canada is responsible for developing safety requirements under the RSSR, it is the company’s responsibility to certify that its products meet the applicable requirements.”
The Hercules Small Reha Booster Seat now available in Canada bears the National Safety Mark.
The National Safety Mark — which Lockwood described as “a prescribed label with the Canadian maple leaf” — affixed to the booster seat at time of assembly is “evidence that [a company’s] product has been certified to meet those requirements,” Lockwood added. “Transport Canada monitors and ensures compliance with the RSSR by providing technical advice to companies, conducting audits of companies’ certification documentation, conducting compliance testing, investigating compliance test failures and other non-compliance conditions, and investigating public complaints alleging safety-related defects.”
The Hercules Small booster seat functions as a car seat that also provides positioning support for children as they ride inside motor vehicles. The booster seat features side-impact protection, adjustable hip and leg guides, and a headrest with depth adjustment. The seat cushion is removable and washable. A five-point-positioning-belt with soft shoulder pads is provided for positioning support and correct safe seating position during the ride. The belt length is easily adjustable with the two buckles.
The back height is adjustable by 9.45 inches (24 cm) so it can grow with the child. Seat depth is adjustable by up to 3.15 inches (8 cm). The swivel function turns the seat toward the passenger vehicle door to facilitate transfers. The tilt function “allows for you to position the child optimally if control of the upper body or head is restricted,” Thomashilfen said. “The tilt function makes it possible to tilt Hercules Small backwards in 2.5-degree increments up to 10 degrees.”
The Hercules Small has a weight capacity of 40 to 110 lbs. (18.2-50 kg) and can accommodate children with heights of 43.4 to 59 inches (110.1-150 cm).
Accessories include swing-away trunk supports, armrests, a footrest, an incontinence seat pad and a magnetic crotch pad.
The Hercules Small is also available for purchase in the United States.
