2008 FORD SUPER DUTY belt

The following are reasons most often given for not wearing safety belts
(All statistics based on U.S. data):
Reasons given... Consider...
“Crashes are rare
events”
36700 crashes occur every day.The more we
drive, the more we are exposed to “rare” events,
even for good drivers.1 in 4 of us will be
seriously injured in a crash during our lifetime.
“I’m not going far”3of4fatal crashes occur within25miles (40 km)
of home.
“Belts are
uncomfortable”We design our safety belts to enhance comfort. If
you are uncomfortable - try different positions for
the safety belt upper anchorage and seatback
which should be as upright as possible; this can
improve comfort.
“I was in a hurry”Prime time for an accident.Belt-Minder

reminds us to take a few seconds to buckle up.
“Safety belts don’t
work”Safety belts,when used properly,reduce risk of
deathto front seat occupants by45% in cars,
and by60% in light trucks.
“Traffic is light”Nearly 1 of 2 deaths occur in single-vehicle
crashes,many when no other vehicles are around.
“Belts wrinkle my
clothes”Possibly, but a serious crash can do much more
than wrinkle your clothes, particularly if you are
unbelted.
“The people I’m
with don’t wear
belts”Set the example, teen deaths occur 4 times more
often in vehicles with TWO or MORE people.
Children and younger brothers/sisters imitate
behavior they see.
“I have an airbag” Airbags offer greater protection when used with
safety belts. Frontal airbags are not designed to
inflate in rear and side crashes or rollovers.
“I’d rather be
thrown clear”Not a good idea.Peoplewho areejected are 40
times more likely to DIE.Safety belts help
prevent ejection, WE CAN’T “PICK OUR CRASH”.
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Do not sit on tope of a buckled safety belt or insert a latchplate
into the buckle to avoid the Belt-Minder
chime. To do so may
adversely affect the performance of the vehicle’s air bag system
One-time disable
Any time the safety belt is buckled and then unbuckled during an
ignition ON cycle, the Belt-Minder
will be disabled for that ignition
cycle only.
Deactivating/activating the Belt-Minderfeature (Driver only)
Read Steps1-5thoroughly before proceeding with the
deactivation/activation programming procedure.
The Belt-Minder
feature can be deactivated/activated by performing the
following procedure:
Before following the procedure, make sure that the following conditions
are met:
•the parking brake is set
•the gearshift is in P (Park) (automatic transmission) or the neutral
position (manual transmission)
•the ignition switch is in the OFF position
•all vehicle doors are closed
•the driver’s safety belt is unbuckled
•the parklamps/headlamps are in the OFF position (If the vehicle is
equipped with Autolamps, this will not affect the procedure)
While the design allows you to deactivate your Belt-Minder
,this
system is designed to improve your chances of being safely
belted and surviving an accident. We recommend you leave the
Belt-Minder
system activated for yourself and others who may use the
vehicle. To reduce the risk of injury, do not deactivate/activate the
Belt-Minder
feature while driving the vehicle.
Belt-Minder
activation and deactivation procedure
1. Turn the ignition switch to the RUN (or ON) position. (DO NOT
START THE ENGINE)
2. Wait until the safety belt warning light turns off. (Approximately 1
minute)
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•Step 3 must be completed within 60 seconds after the safety belt
warning light turns off.
3. At a moderate speed, buckle then unbuckle the safety belt 9 times,
ending with the safety belt in the unbuckled state.
•After Step 3 is complete, the safety belt warning light will be turned
on for 3 seconds.
•If Step 4 does not occur within 10 seconds at the end of Step 3,
Belt-Minder
will automatically exit programming mode without
changing its enable status.
4. Within 7 seconds of the light turning on, at a moderate speed, buckle
then unbuckle the safety belt.
•This will disable the Belt-Minder
feature if it is currently enabled. As
confirmation, the safety belt warning light will flash 4 times per
second for 3 seconds.
•This will enable the Belt-Minder
feature if it is currently disabled. As
confirmation, the safety belt warning light will flash 4 times per
second for 3 seconds, followed by 3 seconds with the light off, then
followed by the safety belt warning light flashing 4 times per second
for 3 seconds again.
5. After receiving confirmation, the deactivation/activation procedure is
complete.
Safety belt extension assembly
If the safety belt is too short when fully extended, there isa8inch
(20 cm) safety belt extension assembly that can be added (part number
611C22). This assembly can be obtained from your authorized dealer.
Use only extensions manufactured by the same supplier as the safety
belt. Manufacturer identification is located at the end of the webbing on
the label. Also, use the safety belt extension only if the safety belt is too
short for you when fully extended.
Do not use extensions to change the fit of the shoulder belt
across the torso.
Safety belt maintenance
Inspect the safety belt systems periodically to make sure they work
properly and are not damaged. Inspect the safety belts to make sure
there are no nicks, tears or cuts. Replace if necessary. All safety belt
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assemblies, including retractors, buckles, front seat belt buckle
assemblies, buckle support assemblies (slide bar-if equipped), shoulder
belt height adjusters (if equipped), shoulder belt guide on seatback (if
equipped), child safety seat LATCH and tether anchors, and attaching
hardware, should be inspected after a collision. Ford Motor Company
recommends that all safety belt assemblies in use in vehicles involved in
a collision be replaced. However, if the collision was minor and your
authorized dealer finds that the belts do not show damage and continue
to operate properly, they do not need to be replaced. Safety belt
assemblies not in use during a collision should also be inspected and
replaced if either damage or improper operation is noted.
Failure to inspect and if necessary replace the safety belt
assembly under the above conditions could result in severe
personal injuries in the event of a collision.
For proper care of soiled safety belts, refer toInteriorin theCleaning
chapter.
AIRBAG SUPPLEMENTAL RESTRAINT SYSTEM (SRS)
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Important SRS precautions
The SRS is designed to work with
the safety belt to help protect the
driver and right front passenger
from certain upper body injuries.
Airbags DO NOT inflate slowly;
there is a risk of injury from a
deploying airbag.
All occupants of the vehicle, including the driver, should always
properly wear their safety belts, even when an air bag
supplemental restraint system (SRS) is provided.
Always transport children 12 years old and under in the back
seat and always properly use appropriate child restraints.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
recommends a minimum distance of at least 10 inches (25 cm)
between an occupant’s chest and the driver airbag module.
Never place your arm over the air bag module as a deploying air
bag can result in serious arm fractures or other injuries.
To properly position yourself away from the airbag:
•Move your seat to the rear as far as you can while still reaching the
pedals comfortably.
•Recline the seat slightly one or two degrees from the upright position.
Do not put anything on or over the air bag module. Placing
objects on or over the air bag inflation area may cause those
objects to be propelled by the air bag into your face and torso causing
serious injury.
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An infant in a rear-facing seat faces a high risk of serious or fatal
injuries from a deploying passenger airbag. Rear facing infant
seats should NEVER be placed in the front seats, unless the passenger
airbag is turned off.
Turning the passenger airbag back on
The passenger airbag remains OFF until you turn it back ON.
1. Insert the ignition key and turn
the switch to ON.
2. The OFF light will briefly
illuminate when the ignition is
turned to On. This indicates that the
passenger airbag is operational.
If the OFF light is illuminated when the passenger airbag switch
is in the ON position and the ignition switch is in ON, have the
passenger airbag switch serviced at your authorized dealer
immediately.
The passenger side airbag should always be ON (the airbag OFF light
shouldnotbe illuminated) unless the passenger is a person who meets
the requirements stated either in Category 1, 2 or 3 of the
NHTSA/Transport Canada deactivation criteria which follows.
The safety belts for the driver and right front passenger seating
positions have been specifically designed to function together
with the airbags in certain types of crashes. When you turn OFF your
airbag, you not only lose the protection of the airbag, you also may
reduce the effectiveness of your safety belt system, which was
designed to work with the airbag. If you are not a person who meets
the requirements stated in the NHTSA/Transport Canada deactivation
criteria turning OFF the airbag can increase the risk of serious injury
or death in a collision.
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If your vehicle has rear seats, always transport children who are
12 and younger in the rear seat. Always use safety belts and
child restraints properly. If a child in a rear facing infant seat must be
transported in front, the passenger airbagmustbe turned OFF. This is
because the back of the infant seat is too close to the inflating airbag
and the risk of a fatal injury to the infant when the airbag inflates is
substantial.
The vast majority of drivers and passengers are much safer with an
airbag than without. To do their job and reduce the risk of life
threatening injuries, airbags must open with great force, and this force
can pose a potentially deadly risk in some situations, particularly when a
front seat occupant is not properly buckled up. The most effective way
to reduce the risk of unnecessary airbag injuries without reducing the
overall safety of the vehicle is to make sure all occupants are properly
restrained in the vehicle, especially in the front seat. This provides the
protection of safety belts and permits the airbags to provide the
additional protection they were designed to provide. If you choose to
deactivate your airbag, you are losing the very significant risk reducing
benefits of the airbag and you are also reducing the effectiveness of the
safety belts, because safety belts in modern vehicles are designed to
work as a safety system with the airbags.
Read all airbag warning labels in the vehicle as well as the other
important airbag instructions and warnings in this Owner’s Guide.
NHTSA deactivation criteria (excluding Canada)
1.Infant.An infant (less than 1 year old) must ride in the front seat
because:
•the vehicle has no rear seat;
•the vehicle has a rear seat too small to accommodate a rear-facing
infant seat; or
•the infant has a medical condition which, according to the infant’s
physician, makes it necessary for the infant to ride in the front so that
the driver can constantly monitor the child’s condition.
2.Child age 1 to 12.A child age 1 to 12 must ride in the front seat
because:
•the vehicle has no rear seat;
•although children ages 1 to 12 ride in the rear seat(s) whenever
possible, children ages 1 to 12 sometimes must ride in the front
because no space is available in the rear seat(s) of the vehicle; or
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•the child has a medical condition which, according to the child’s
physician, makes it necessary for the child to ride in the front seat so
that the driver can constantly monitor the child’s condition.
3.Medical condition.A passenger has a medical condition which,
according to his or her physician:
•causes the passenger airbag to pose a special risk for the passenger;
and
•makes the potential harm from the passenger airbag in a crash greater
than the potential harm from turning OFF the airbag and allowing the
passenger, even if belted, to hit the dashboard or windshield in a
crash.
This vehicle has special energy management safety belts for the
driver and right front passenger. These particular belts are
specifically designed to work with airbags to help reduce the risk of
injury in a collision. The energy management safety belt is designed to
give or release additional belt webbing in some accidents to reduce
concentration of force on an occupant’s chest and reduce the risk of
certain bone fractures and injuries to underlying organs. In a crash, if
the airbag is turned OFF, this energy management safety belt might
permit the person wearing the belt to move forward enough to incur a
serious or fatal injury. The more severe the crash, and the heavier the
occupant, the greater the risk is. Be sure the airbag is turned ON for
any person who does not qualify under the NHTSA deactivation criteria.
Transport Canada deactivation criteria (Canada Only)
1.Infant:An infant (less than 1 year old) must ride in the front seat
because:
•my vehicle has no rear seat;
•the rear seat in my vehicle cannot accommodate a rear-facing infant
seat; or
•the infant has a medical condition which, according to the infant’s
physician, makes it necessary for the infant to ride in the front seat so
that the driver can monitor the infant’s condition.
2.Child age 12 or under:A child age 12 or under must ride in the
front seat because:
•my vehicle has no rear seat;
•although children age 12 and under ride in the rear seat whenever
possible, children age 12 and under have no option but to sometimes
ride in the front seat because rear seat space is insufficient; or
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