264 SAFETY
Children Too Large For Booster Seats
Children who are large enough to wear the shoulder belt
comf
ortably, and whose legs are long enough to bend over
the front of the seat when their back is against the seatback,
should use the seat belt in a rear seat. Use this simple 5-step
test to decide whether the child can use the vehicle’s seat belt
alone:
1. Can the child sit all the way back against the back of the
veh
icle seat?
2. Do the child’s knees bend comfortably over the front of
the
vehicle seat – while the child is still sitting all the way
back?
3. Does the shoulder belt cross the child’s shoulder between
the
neck and arm?
4. Is the lap part of the belt as low as possible, touching the
chi
ld’s thighs and not the stomach?
5. Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?
If
the answer to any of these questions was “no,” then the
chil
d still needs to use a booster seat in this vehicle. If the
child is using the lap/shoulder belt, check seat belt fit peri
-
odically and make sure the seat belt buckle is latched. A
chil
d’s squirming or slouching can move the belt out of posi-
tion. If the shoulder belt contacts the face or neck, move the
c
hil
d closer to the center of the vehicle, or use a booster seat
to position the seat belt on the child correctly.
WARNING!
Never allow a child to put the shoulder belt under an
arm
or behind their back. In a crash, the shoulder belt
will not protect a child properly, which may result in
serious injury or death. A child must always wear both
the lap and shoulder portions of the seat belt correctly.
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