LATCH Lower
anchorages and tether
for children
Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
To provide a s impler and more pract icable way
to attach the chi ld restraint on the vehicle
seat, Federa l reg ulations require specia l lower
anchorages in vehicles and dev ices on new
chi ld restraints to attach to the vehicle ancho
rages .
The combination of the tether anchorages and
the lower anchorages is now generally called
the
LATCH system for " Lower Anchorages and
T ethers for Children ."
F orward-facing child rest raints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S.
federal regulations to comply wit h new c hild
head movement performance requirements .
These new performance requirements make a tether necessary on most new chi ld seats.
I nstal ling a chi ld restraint that requi res a top
tether witho ut one can serio usly impair the
performance of the chi ld restraint and its ab il
ity to protect the c hild in a co llision . Installing
a child restraint that requires a top tether
without the top tether may be a v io lation of
state law.
Ch ild restra int manufacturers offer LATCH
lower anchorages on the ir ch ild seats with
hook -on or push-on connecto rs attached to
adjustable 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 .
Tether anchorage s
Your Audi Cabriolet is not equipped with a
LATCH system. It is not equ ipped with top
tether anchorages. It is equipped with lower
anchorages only.
Your Cabriolet is equipped with the Active Rollover Protection System, w hich is integrat-
Child Sa fet y 175
ed into the back rest of the rear seat . The Ac
tive Ro llover P rotection System dep loys up
wards to he lp prov ide addit ional protection in
certain co llisions and crash s ituations. For this
reason, your vehicle is
not equipped with top
tether anchorages for use with forward -facing
c hi ld restra ints.
In Canada , provinc ial law requ ires that for
ward-fac ing ch ild restraints use both top teth
er anchorages and lower anchorages; the re
fore, it is
not pos sib le to install a forward-fac
ing child restra int in this vehicle.
In the United States , child restraint installa
tion must conform w ith the child restraint
manufacture r's instructions. Check the in
structions that come w ith the c hild restra int
o r contact the ma nufactu rer to determine if
the ch ild res traint may be ins ta lled fac ing fo r
ward without sec uring the top te ther strap .
A WARNING ,..__
Improper installation of child restraints
will increase the risk of injury and death in
a crash.
- Always follow the instr uctions provided
by the manufacture r of the child re
straint yo u intend to install in your vehi
cle.
- Improper use of child restraint LATCH
lower anchorage points can lead to injury
in a collision. The LATC H lower anchorage
points are designed to wi thstand on ly
those loads i mposed by co rrectly fitted
child r est raints.
- Never mount two ch ild 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.
@ Tips
In other countries, the term "ISOFIX" is
used to describe the lower anchorages .
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