According to accident statistics,
children of all ages and sizes are
safer when they are restrained in the
back seat, not the front seat. The
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration and Transport
Canada recommend that all children
ages 12 and under be properly
restrained in the back seat.
In the back seat, children are less
likely to be injured by striking hard
interior parts during a collision or
hard braking. Also, children cannot
be injured by an inflating airbag
when they ride in the back.
Front airbags have been designed to
help protect adults in a moderate to
severe frontal collision. To do this,
the passenger’s front airbag is quite
large, and it inflates with tremendous
speed.
Whenever possible,
larger children should sit in the back
seat, in a booster seat if needed, and
be properly restrained with a seat
belt. (See page for important
information about protecting larger
children.)
If
the airbag inflates, it can hit the back
of the child seat with enough force
to kill or very seriously injure an
infant.
If the vehicle seat is
too far forward, or the child’s head is
thrown forward during a collision, an
inflating front airbag can strike the
child with enough force to kill or
very seriously injure a small child.
35
CONTINUED
Small Children
Larger Children
Infants
Children who have outgrown child
seats are also at risk of being injured
or killed by an inf lating passenger’s
front airbag.
Never put a rear-f acing child seat in
the front seat of a vehicle equipped
with a passenger’s f ront airbag.
Placing a forward-facing child seat in
the front seat of a vehicle equipped
with a passenger’s f ront airbag can
be hazardous.
Children Should Sit in the Back
Seat
The Passenger’s Front Airbag
Poses Serious Risks to Children
Protecting Children
Driver and Passenger Safety
21
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