190 Ch ild Saf e ty
now be used as an ordinary safety belt with -
out the convertible locking retractor for chi ld
restra ints .
If the convert ible locking ret racto r shou ld be
activated inadvertently, the safety belt must
be unfastened and guided completely back in-
to its stowed pos ition to deactivate th is fea -
ture. If the convertib le locking retractor is not
deactivated, the safety belt will gradually be-
come tighter and uncomfortable to wear .
A WARNING
Improperly installed child safety seats in-
crease the risk of ser ious personal injury
and death in a collision.
- Never unfasten the safety belt to deacti-
vate the convert ible locking ret ractor for
child restraints while the veh icle is mov-
ing. You would not be restrained and
cou ld be ser iously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child rest rained in ave-
hicle is being used
¢ page 177. Special
precautions apply when installing a ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 155, Child restraints on the front
seat - some important things to know.
LATCH Lower
anchorages and tethers
for children
Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
To provide a simp ler and more practicable way
to attach the ch ild restraint on the veh icle
seat, Federa l regu lations require specia l lower
anchorages in vehicles and devices on new
child restraints to attach to the vehicle ancho-
rages.
The combination of the tether anchorages and
the lower anchorages is now generally called
the
LATCH system for "Lower Anchorages and
Tethers for Children."
Forward- facing child rest raints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S.
federa l regu lations to comply with new child
head movement performance req uirements.
These new performance req uirements make a
tether necessary on most new child seats.
Installing a child restra int that requires a top
tethe r without one can seriously impair the
performance of the child restra int and its abil-
ity to protect the child in a coll is ion. Insta lling
a child restraint that requires a top tether
without the top tether may be a violat ion of
state law.
Child restraint manufacturers offer LATCH
lower anchorages on their child seats with
hook -on or push-on connectors attached to
adjustable straps .
In add ition to the LATCH lower anchorages,
these child restraint systems usually require
the use of tether straps to he lp keep the child
rest raint firmly in place.
A WARNING
,__
Imp roper installat ion of child restra ints
will increase the risk of injury and death in
a crash.
- Always follow the instr uctions provided
by t he manufacture r of the child re-
st raint you intend to install in your vehi-
cle.
- Never install a child restraint withou t a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacture r's instruc -
tions require the top tether st rap to be
used.
- Improper use of child rest raint LATCH
lowe r anchorage points can lead to injury
in a collision. The LATCH lowe r anchorage
points are designed to withstand on ly
those loads imposed by correctly fitted
child res t raints.
- Never mount two child restra int systems
on one LATCH lower anchorage point.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other item to the LATCH lower anchorag-
-
es .
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