use the safety belt height adjustment to help
adjust the shoulder portion properly .
~
Secure unused safety be lts on the rear seat
¢ page 173.
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40 lbs. or
18 kg) are best protect ed in child safety s eats de-
signed for their age and weight. Experts say that
the skeletal structure, particularly the pelvis, of
these children is not fully developed, and they
must not use the vehicle safety belts without a
suitable child restra int .
It is usually best to put these children in appro-
priate booster seats . Be sure the booster seat
meets all applicable safety standards .
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
child and reposition both the lap and shoulder
parts of the safety belt so that they pass across
the child's body in the right places. The rout ing of
the belt over the child's body is very important
for the child's protection, whether or not a boos-
ter seat is used. Children age 12 and unde r must
a lways ride in the rear seat .
Children who are at least 4 ft . 9 in. (57 inches/
1.45 mete rs) tall ca n genera lly use the veh icle's
three po int lap and shoulder be lts. Never use the
lap belt po rtion of the vehicle 's safety belt alone
to restrain any child, regardless of how big the
child is. Always remember that children do not
have the pronounced pelvic structure required for
the proper function of lap belt port ion of the ve-
hicle 's three point lap and shoulder be lts. The
child 's safety absolutely requires that a lap belt
port ion of the safety belt be fastened snugly and
as low as possible around the pelvis . Never let
the lap belt portion of the safety belt pass over
the child's stomach or abdomen.
In a crash, a irbags must inflate within a blink of
an eye and wit h considerable force . In order to do
its job, the airbag needs room to inflate so that it
will be there to protect the occupant as the occu-
pant moves forward into the a irbag.
A vehicle occupant who is out of position and too
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close to the airbag gets in the way of an inflating
....
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airbag. When an occ upant is too close, he or she
N
8 will be struck violently and will receive ser ious or
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possibly even fatal injury.
00
Ch ild safety
In order for the a irbag to offer protection, it is
important that a ll vehicle occupants, especially
any children, who m ust be in the front seat be-
cause of exceptiona l circumstances, be properly
restra ined and as far away from the airbag as
poss ible. By keeping room between the child 's
body and the front of the passenger compart-
ment, the a irbag can inflate completely and pro-
vide supplementa l protec t ion in certain frontal
collisions.
A WARNING
-
Not using a booster seat, using the booster
seat improperly, incorrect ly installing a boos -
ter seat or using the vehicle safety belt im-
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death in a collision or other emer-
gency situation. To help reduce the risk of se-
rious personal injury and/or death:
- The shou lder belt must lie as close to the
center of the ch ild's collar bone as possible
and must lie flat and snug on the upper
body. It must never lie across the throat or
neck. The lap belt must lie ac ross the pelvis
and never across the stomach o r abdomen.
Make sure the bel t lies flat and sn ug. Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary.
- Fail ure to properly route safety bel t s over a
child's body will cause severe injuries in an
accident or other emergency situation
¢ page 140.
- The rear side of the child safety seat should
be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat. Adjust or re-
move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif-
f icult to insta ll the ch ild seat with the head
restraint in place¢
page 64 . Install the
head restraint again immed iately once the
child seat is removed . Driving without head
rest raints or with head restra ints that a re
not properly adj usted increases the risk of
serio us or fatal ne ck inj ury dramatically .
- Never let a child put the shoulder belt under
the arm or behind t he ba ck, because it could
cause severe injuries in a crash .
- Children on the fron t seat of a ny car, even
with Advanced Airbags, can be seriously in-
jured or even killed when an airbag inflates .
Ill>
177
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