50
TRANSPORTING CHILDREN SAFELY
The proper place for children
Do not leave children unattended in
the vehicle; otherwise they could
endanger themselves and others by open-
ing the doors, for example.<
In principle, all seats in your MINI or MINI
Convertible except for the driver's seat are
suitable for installing universal child-
restraint systems for all age groups that
have been approved for the age group in
question.
Children should always sit in the rear
Accident research shows that the safest
place for children is on the rear seats.
Only transport children under the age
of 13 or smaller than 5 ft/150 cm in
the rear in a child-restraint system suitable
for their age, weight and size. Otherwise
there is an increased risk of injury in the
event of an accident.<
Children 13 years of age or older must wear
a fastened safety belt as soon as a child-
restraint system is no longer suitable due
to their age, size or weight.
All rear seat positions in your vehicle meet
the recommendations of the SAE J1819 stan-
dard for securely mounting child-restraint
systems in motor vehicles.
Exception for the front passenger seat
Should it be necessary to use a child-
restraint system on the front passen-
ger seat, the front and side airbags for the
front passenger must be deactivated. Oth-
erwise, there is a significant risk of injury to
the child if the airbags deploy, even if the
child is seated in a child-restraint system.
Your MINI Dealer will be glad to advise
you.<
For additional information on automatic
deactivation of the front passenger airbags,
refer to page75.
Installing child-restraint systems
Always follow the manufacturer's
instructions when selecting, install-
ing and using child-restraint systems; oth-
erwise the system's protective effect could
be diminished.<
Commercially available child-restraint sys-
tems are designed to be secured with a lap
belt or with the lap-belt section of a lap-
and-shoulder belt. Incorrectly or improperly
installed child-restraint systems can
increase the risk of injury to children.
Always follow the instructions on installing
the system precisely.
76
AIRBAGS
tivated or activated, refer to Functional sta-
tus of the front passenger airbags below. <
Before transporting a child on the
front passenger seat, read the safety
notes and instructions under Transporting
children safely, refer to page50.
Adolescents and adults sitting in certain
positions could also deactivate the front
and side airbags for the front passenger;
the indicator lamp for the front passenger
airbags comes on. In such cases, the occu-
pant should change his or her sitting posi-
tion so that the front passenger airbags are
activated and the indicator lamp goes out.
If the airbags are not activated although
the seat occupant has changed his or her
position, have the occupant sit on a rear
seat. Do not attach covers, cushions, ball
mats or other items to the front passenger
seat unless they are specifically recom-
mended by the manufacturer of your MINI.
Do not place any objects under the seat
which could press against the seat from
below. Otherwise, a correct analysis of the
seat cushion is not ensured.<
Functional status of the front
passenger airbags
As an example, the illustration shows the
indicator lamp for front passenger airbags
on the headliner of the MINI.
In accordance with whether and how the
front passenger seat is occupied, the indi-
cator lamp for the front passenger airbags
shows the functional status of the front
and side airbags for the front passenger.
The indicator lamp shows whether the
front passenger airbags are activated or
deactivated.
>The indicator lamp comes on as intended
when a child in a specially designated
child-restraint system is detected on the
front passenger's seat.
The front and side airbags for the front
passenger are not activated.
>The indicator lamp does not come on
when the system detects a person of suf-
ficient size sitting correctly on the seat,
for example. The front and side airbags
for the front passenger are activated.
>The indicator lamp does not come on
when the seat is empty. However, the
front and side airbags for the front pas-
senger are not activated.
Operational readiness of the airbag
system
Starting from ignition key
position 1, the warning lamp in the
display elements lights up briefly
for confirmation that the entire airbag sys-
tem and the seat belt tensioners are opera-
tional.
Airbag system malfunctioning
>The warning lamp does not come on
along with ignition key position 1
>The warning lamp stays lit continuously.
In the event of a malfunction, have
the airbag system checked immedi-
ately. Otherwise, there is a risk that the sys-
tem will not function as intended in an
accident of sufficient severity.<
