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Q:What is the proper way to wear safety belts?
A:An older child should wear a lap-shoulder belt and
get the additional restraint a shoulder belt can
provide. The shoulder belt should not cross the face
or neck. The lap belt should t snugly below the
hips, just touching the top of the thighs. This applies
belt force to the child’s pelvic bones in a crash.
It should never be worn over the abdomen, which
could cause severe or even fatal internal injuries
in a crash.
Also see “Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides” under
Lap-Shoulder Belt on page 1-23.
According to accident statistics, children and infants are
safer when properly restrained in the rear seating
positions than in the front seating positions.
In a crash, children who are not buckled up can strike
other people who are buckled up, or can be thrown
out of the vehicle. Older children need to use safety
belts properly.{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same belt.
The belt cannot properly spread the impact
forces. In a crash, the two children can be
crushed together and seriously injured. A belt
must be used by only one person at a time.
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{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here a child is sitting in a seat that has a
lap-shoulder belt, but the shoulder part is
behind the child. In a crash, the child would not
be restrained by the shoulder belt. The child
might slide under the lap belt. The belt force
would then be applied right on the abdomen.
That could cause serious or fatal injuries.
The child could also move too far forward
increasing the chance of head and neck injury.
The shoulder belt should go over the shoulder
and across the chest.
Infants and Young Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! This includes
infants and all other children. Neither the distance
traveled nor the age and size of the traveler changes
the need, for everyone, to use safety restraints. In fact,
the law in every state in the United States and in
every Canadian province says children up to some age
must be restrained while in a vehicle.
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{CAUTION:
Children can be seriously injured or strangled if
a shoulder belt is wrapped around their neck
and the safety belt continues to tighten. Never
leave children unattended in a vehicle and never
allow children to play with the safety belts.
Every time infants and young children ride in vehicles,
they should have the protection provided by appropriate
restraints. Children who are not restrained properly
can strike other people, or can be thrown out of the
vehicle. In addition, young children should not use the
vehicle’s adult safety belts alone; they need to use a
child restraint.
{CAUTION:
People should never hold an infant in their
arms while riding in a vehicle. An infant
does not weigh much — until a crash.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
During a crash an infant will become so heavy
it is not possible to hold it. For example, in a
crash at only 25 mph (40 km/h), a 12 lb (5.5 kg)
infant will suddenly become a 240 lb (110 kg)
force on a person’s arms. An infant should be
secured in an appropriate restraint.
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{CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to,
any airbag when it in ates can be seriously
injured or killed. Airbags plus lap-shoulder
belts offer protection for adults and older
children, but not for young children and
infants. Neither the vehicle’s safety belt system
nor its airbag system is designed for them.
Young children and infants need the protection
that a child restraint system can provide.
Q:What are the different types of add-on child
restraints?
A:Add-on child restraints, which are purchased by the
vehicle’s owner, are available in four basic types.
Selection of a particular restraint should take into
consideration not only the child’s weight, height, and
age but also whether or not the restraint will be
compatible with the motor vehicle in which it will
be used.
For most basic types of child restraints, there are
many different models available. When purchasing a
child restraint, be sure it is designed to be used
in a motor vehicle. If it is, the restraint will have a
label saying that it meets federal motor vehicle
safety standards.
The restraint manufacturer’s instructions that come
with the restraint state the weight and height
limitations for a particular child restraint. In addition,
there are many kinds of restraints available for
children with special needs.
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Page 39 of 402
{CAUTION:
Newborn infants need complete support,
including support for the head and neck.
This is necessary because a newborn infant’s
neck is weak and its head weighs so much
compared with the rest of its body. In a crash,
an infant in a rear-facing seat settles into
the restraint, so the crash forces can be
distributed across the strongest part of an
infant’s body, the back and shoulders.
Infants should always be secured in
appropriate infant restraints.
{CAUTION:
The body structure of a young child is quite
unlike that of an adult or older child, for whom
the safety belts are designed. A young child’s
hip bones are still so small that the vehicle’s
regular safety belt may not remain low on the
hip bones, as it should. Instead, it may settle
up around the child’s abdomen. In a crash,
the belt would apply force on a body area
that is unprotected by any bony structure.
This alone could cause serious or fatal
injuries. Young children should always be
secured in appropriate child restraints.
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Child Restraint Systems
A rear-facing infant
seat (A) provides restraint
with the seating surface
against the back of
the infant.
The harness system holds the infant in place and, in a
crash, acts to keep the infant positioned in the restraint.
A forward-facing child
seat (B) provides restraint
for the child’s body
with the harness.A booster seat (C-D) is a child restraint designed to
improve the t of the vehicle’s safety belt system.
A booster seat can also help a child to see out the
window.
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Securing an Add-On Child Restraint in
the Vehicle
{CAUTION:
A child can be seriously injured or killed in a
crash if the child restraint is not properly
secured in the vehicle. Make sure the child
restraint is properly installed in the vehicle
using the vehicle’s safety belt or LATCH
system, following the instructions that came
with that restraint, and also the instructions in
this manual.
To help reduce the chance of injury, the child restraint
must be secured in the vehicle. Child restraint systems
must be secured in vehicle seats by lap belts or the
lap belt portion of a lap-shoulder belt, or by the LATCH
system. SeeLower Anchors and Tethers for Children
(LATCH) on page 1-39for more information. A child can
be endangered in a crash if the child restraint is not
properly secured in the vehicle.When securing an add-on child restraint, refer to the
instructions that come with the restraint which may be on
the restraint itself or in a booklet, or both, and to this
manual. The child restraint instructions are important,
so if they are not available, obtain a replacement
copy from the manufacturer.
Keep in mind that an unsecured child restraint can
move around in a collision or sudden stop and injure
people in the vehicle. Be sure to properly secure any
child restraint in your vehicle — even when no child
is in it.
Securing the Child Within the
Child Restraint
{CAUTION:
A child can be seriously injured or killed in a
crash if the child is not properly secured in the
child restraint. Because there are different
systems, it is important to refer to the
instructions that come with the restraint. Make
sure the child is properly secured, following the
instructions that came with that restraint.
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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 and child restraints
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.
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.
Even though the passenger sensing system is
designed to turn off the right front passenger’s
frontal airbag if the system detects a rear-facing
child restraint, no system is 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 secured in a rear
seat, even if the airbag is off.
If you 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.
SeePassenger Sensing System on page 1-61
for additional information.
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