Securing the Child Within the Child
Restraint
There are several systems for securing the child
within the child restraint. One system, the
three-point harness, has straps that come down
over each of the infant’s shoulders and buckle
together at the crotch. The ve-point harness
system has two shoulder straps, two hip straps, and
a crotch strap. A shield may take the place of hip
straps. A T-shaped shield has shoulder straps that
are attached to a at pad which rests low against
the child’s body. A shelf- or armrest-type shield has
straps that are attached to a wide, shelf-like shield
that swings up or to the side.
{CAUTION:
A child can be seriously injured or killed in
a crash if the child is not properly secured
in the child restraint. Make sure the child
is properly secured, following the
instructions that came with that restraint.Because there are different systems, it is important
to refer to the instructions that come with the
restraint. A child can be endangered in a crash if
the child is not properly secured in the child
restraint.
Where to Put the Restraint
Accident statistics show that children are safer
if they are restrained in the rear rather than the
front seat.
We recommend that children be secured in a rear
seat, including: an infant or a child riding in a
rear-facing child restraint; a child riding in a
forward-facing child seat; an older child riding in a
booster seat; and children, who are large
enough, using safety belts.
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A label on your sun visor says, “Never put a
rear-facing child seat in the front.” This is because
the risk to the rear-facing child is so great, if the
airbag deploys.
{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can
be seriously injured or killed if the right
front passenger’s airbag in ates. This is
because the back of the rear-facing child
restraint would be very close to the
in ating airbag. Be sure the airbag is off
before using a rear-facing child restraint
in the right front seat position.
Even though the passenger sensing
system or airbag off switch are designed to
turn off the passenger’s frontal airbag
under certain conditions, no system is
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
fail-safe, and no one can guarantee that
an airbag will not deploy under some
unusual circumstance, even though it is
turned off. We recommend that rear-facing
child restraints be transported in vehicles
with a rear seat that will accommodate a
rear-facing child restraint, whenever
possible.
If you need to secure a forward-facing
child restraint in the right front seat,
always move the front passenger seat as
far back as it will go. It is better to secure
the child restraint in a rear seat.
If your vehicle does not have a rear seat that will
accommodate a rear-facing child restraint, we
recommend that rear-facing child restraints not be
transported in your vehicle, even if the airbag is off.
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