2003 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT Owners Manual

Babies and older children must
never ride in a vehicle sitting on the lap of an adult. Holding a child
in your arms is never a substitute for a child restraint system. The
strongest adult could not hold onto the child under the forces
a crash at a speed of
be more than times the weight of the means the weight of the be more than kg).
Under these conditions.
too for an infant restraint up to
4 years
or 18 kg) strained in a seat
dangerous
est
seat. for an fant or a in a rearwar d-facing
seat.
ous injury to the child.
ward-facing child seats on the rear seat .
Always read and heed all

exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-faci
ng chi ld seat on the
front seat, the child's safety and well-being
r eq
uire that the following special precau­
tions be taken:
Booster seats
up to 8 years old
is
usually best
to put these children in ap­
propriate booster seats.
Be sure the boo­
ste r seat meets all applicable safety
standards.
Booster seats
raise the seat ing position of
the child and reposition both the lap and sh oulder parts of the safety belt so th at the y
pass across the child's body in the right
places.
The routing of the belt over the child's body
is ve
ry importa nt for the child's protection. whether or not a booster seat is used.

children should use a lap belt only
these
situations . the use of a lap belt than permitt ing the child to remain unrestrained. But remember: a lap
belt cannot provide the same level of
protection as a proper child restraint. Also. a lap belt for younger children. who should be using a child restraint. may vio­
late laws
in your state or province.

SAFETY FIRST
Securing a
and the front passenge r three­
point safety have a convertible locking
feature in addition to the eme rgen cy locking
feature.
seat at an outer
seating position. you must first activate the
convertib le locking feature. Then secure the
seat by using the seat
Always install rear-facing child
seats or infant carriers on the rear
seat.
is always safer to install a
child seat in the rear.
36---------------------

SAFETY FIRST

Securing a
First make sure the seat backrest of the
rear seat bench is in upright position and se­
curely latched in place,
Booklet 3-1, chapter
Then secure the child seat as described
in this chapter
Be sure to follow the instructions provided
by the manufacturer of the child restraint
you are using.
_
when it is being used, Booklet 3. 1, chapter
38 ---------------------CHILD

What Types of CR Anchors are
and How are They
straps
For years,
with
September 1999, manufactur-
ers have been providing tether straps that
attach the top
of the to the
with for manufacturers were required to
phase- in tether anchorages for attachment
of the tether strap in their
be ­
ginning September
1999 .
The combination of the tether anchorages
and the
An­
chor and Tether for
(The term regarding
is now the standard name for the new
of their either as standard equipment or as a
retrofit. for
for tether strap
To provide a way to attach the seat,
anchorages in and de­
vices on new anchor ages.
anchorages on their
advises that the best safety
seat
is the one that fits your and that you use and cons istently .
Try before you buy!
National Highway Traffic
www.safekids.org
822-8987
SAFETY---------------------39