In general, child restraints are designed to be
installed with a lap belt or the lap portion of a
three point type seat belt. Child restraints
specially designed for infants and small chil-
dren are offered by several manufacturers.
When selecting any child restraint, keep the
following points in mind:
1) Choose only a restraint with a label certify-
ing that it complies with Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard 213 or Canadian
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213.
2) Check that child restraint in your vehicle to
be sure it is compatible with the vehicle's
seat and seat belt system. Choose a child
restraint that meets the guidelines of the
Society of Automotive Engineers recom-
mended practice J1819 for child restraint
installation.
3) If the child restraint is compatible with your
vehicle, place your child in the child re-
straint and check the various adjustments
to be sure the child restraint is compatible
with your child. Always follow all recom-
mended procedures.
All U.S. states and provinces of Canada
require that infants and small children be
restrained in approved child restraints at
all times while the vehicle is being oper-
ated.
INever install a rear-facing child re-
straint in the front seat. An inflating
supplemental air bag could seriously
injure or kill your child. A rear-facing
child restraint must only be used in
the rear seat. See ªInstallation on
front passenger seatº for details.
IImproper use of a child restraint can
result in increased injuries for both
the infant or child and other occu-
pants in the vehicle.
IFollow all of the child restraint manu-
facturer's instructions for installation
and use. When purchasing a child
restraint, be sure to select one which
will fit your child and vehicle. It may
not be possible to properly install
some types of child restraints in your
vehicle.
IIf the child restraint is not anchored
properly, the risk of a child being
injured in a collision or a sudden stop
greatly increases.
IAdjustable seatbacks should be posi-tioned to fit the child restraint, but as
upright as possible.
IAfter attaching a child restraint, test
the restraint before you place the
child in it. Tilt it from side to side. Try
to tug it forward and check to see if
the belt holds it in place. If the re-
straint is not secure, tighten the belt
as necessary, or put the restraint in
another seat and test it again.
IFor a front facing child restraint, if the
seat position where it is installed has
a 3-point type lap/shoulder belt,
check to make sure the shoulder belt
does not go in front of the child's face
or neck. If it does, put the shoulder
belt behind the child restraint.
IWhen your child restraint is not in
use, store it in the trunk or keep it
secured with a seat belt to prevent it
from being thrown around in case of
a sudden stop or accident.
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