180 Child Safet y
LATCH Lower
anchorages and tether
for children
Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
To provide a simpler and more practicable way
to attach the child restraint on the vehicle
seat, Federal regulations require specia l lower
anchorages in veh icles and dev ices on new
child restraints to attach to the vehicle ancho
rages.
The combination of the tether anchorages and
the lower anchorages is now generally called
the
LA TC H system for "L ower Anchorages and
Tethers for C hildren ."
F orward-facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S.
federal regulations to comply with new child
head movement performance requirements .
These new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new child seats.
I nstalling a child restraint that requires a top
tether without one can seriously impair the
performance of the child restraint and its abi l
ity to protect the child in a collision . Installing
a child restraint that requires a top tether
without the top tether may be a violation of
state law .
Ch ild restra int manufacturers offer LATCH
lower anchorages on their child seats with
hook-on or push-on connectors attached to
adj ustab le straps.
In addition to the LATCH lower anchorages,
these child restraint systems usually require
the use of tether straps to help keep the child
restra int firmly in place.
_&. WARNING
Imprope r insta llation of chi ld restraints
w ill increase the risk of inju ry and death in
a crash.
- Always fo llow the instructions p rov ided
by the manufacturer of the c hild re- straint yo
u intend to install in your vehi
cle.
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instruc
tions require the top tether strap to be
used.
- Improper use of child restraint LATC H
lower anchorage points can lead to injury
in a collision . T he LATC H lower anchorage
points are designed to withstand on ly
those loads imposed by correctly fitted
chi ld res traints.
- Never mount two child restra int systems
on one LATC H lower anchorage point.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other item to the LATCH lower anchorag
es.
(D Tips
In Canada, the terms "top tether" with
"lower universa l anchorages" (or "lower
u niversa l anchorage ba rs") are used to de
scribe the system.
- In other countries, the term " ISOFIX" is
used to describe the lower a ncho rages.
Location
Fi g. 166 Sc hem atic overview: LA TCH ancho rage point
l ocations
T he illust rat ion shows the seat ing loca tions in
you r vehicle which are equipped with the low
er anchorages system.
