___________________________________________ C_ h_il_d_ S_a_f_e_t :.,y __ _
- Always make sure t hat t he chi ld can proper ly wear t he lap
portion of the belt low across the th ighs or pelvis a nd
never over the stomach or abdomen .
Children up to at leas t 8 yea rs old ( ove r 40 lbs. or 18 kg) a re best
protected in child safety seats designed for their age and weight.
Experts say t hat t he ske letal str ucture, pa rtic ularly t he pe lvis, of
these ch ildren is not fully deve loped, and they must not use the
vehicle safety be lts without a suitable chi ld restraint.
It is usually best to put these ch ild ren in approp riate booste r seats.
Be sure the booster seat meets all applicab le safety standards.
Booster sea t s raise the seating pos it ion of the child and reposi t ion
both the lap and shoulder parts of the safety be lt so that they pass
across the child's body in t he right places . The routing of the be lt over
the ch ild's body is very impo rtant fo r the ch ild's protectio n, whether
or not a booste r seat is used .
Children who are at leas t 4 ft. 9 in. (5 7 inches/ 1.4 5 meters) ta ll can
generally use the vehicle's three point lap and shoulder be lts. Never
use the lap belt port ion of t he vehi cle's safe ty be lt alone t o res tr a in
any child, regardless of how big the ch ild is. Always remember that
children do not have the pronounced pelvic structure required fo r the
proper function of lap belt port ion of the vehicle 's th ree point lap and
sho ulder be lts . The ch ild's safety abso lut ely requires tha t a lap belt
port ion of the safety belt be fastened snugly a nd as low as possible
around the pelvis. Never let t he lap belt portion of the safety belt
pass over t he child's stomach o r abdomen.
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink of an eye and with
cons iderab le fo rce. In o rder t o do it s j ob, t he airbag needs room to
inflate so that it w ill be there to protect the occupant as the occupa nt
moves forward into the airbag.
A vehicle occupant who is out of posit ion a nd too close to the a irbag
gets in the way of an inflating airbag. When an occ upant is too close,
he or she will be st ruck vio lently and will rece ive se rious or possibly
even fatal injury.
Safety first
In order for the airbag to offer protect ion, it is important that all
veh icle occup an ts, espe cia lly any childr en, who m ust be in the fr ont
seat because of exceptiona l circumstances, be properly restra ined
and as far away from the airbag as possib le. By keeping room
between the child's body and the front of the passenger compart-
ment, the airbag can inflate completely and provide supplemental
protection in ce rta in frontal collisions.
& WARNING
Not using a booster seat , using the booster seat improperly, incor-
rectly installing a booster seat or using the vehicle safety belt
improp erly increases the risk of serious personal injury and death
in a collision or other eme rgency situation. To help reduce the risk
of serious personal injury and / or death:
• Always make sure to position the shoulder portion of the three-
point belt over the middle of child's shoulder .
• Never let the shoulder portion of the belt rest again st or across
the neck, face, chin , or throat of the child.
• Alway s make sure the lap belt portion of the three-point belt is
worn snug and passes as low as possible across the child 's pelvi s.
Never let th e belt pass over the soft abdomen .
• Failure to properly route safety belts over a child 's body will
cause severe injuries in an accident or oth er em ergency situation
=> page 110 .
• Children on the front seat of any car, even with Advanced
Airbags, can be seriously inju red or even killed when an airbag
inflates.
• Never let a child stand or kneel on the seat.
• Never let a child ride in the cargo area of your vehicle.
• Alway s remember that a child leaning forward , sitting side-
ways or out of position in any way during an accident can be struck
by a deploying airbag. This will result in serious personal injury or
death .
~
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself: service Technical data
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