180 Child Saf ety
you can use the safety belt he ight ad just
ment to help adjust the shoulder portion
properly .
• Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢ page 176.
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40 lbs
or 18 kg) are best protected in chi ld safety
seats designed for their age and weight. Ex
perts say that the skeletal structure, particu
larly the pelvis, of these ch ildren is not fully
developed, and they must not use the vehicle
safety belts without a su itab le child restraint .
It is usually best to put these children in ap propriate booster seats. Be sure the booster
seat meets all applicable safety standards .
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
child and reposition both the lap and shoulder parts of the safety belt so that they pass
across the child's body in the right places. The routing of the belt over t he ch ild's body is very
important for the ch ild's protection, whet he r
or not a booster sea t is used . Children age 12
and under must always ride in the rear seat.
C hil dren who are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (57 in
ches/ 1.45 meters) ta ll can generally use the
vehicle's th ree po int lap and shoulder be lts.
Never use the lap belt portion o f the veh icle's
safety belt a lone to restrain any child, regard
less of how b ig the child is . Always remember
that ch ildren do not have the pronounced pe l
vic structure required for the proper function of lap belt portion of the vehicle's three po int
lap and shoulder belts. The child's safety ab
solutely requires that a lap belt portion of the
safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as possib le around the pelvis. Never le t the lap
be lt portion of the safety belt pass over the
chi ld's stomach or abdomen.
I n a crash, airbags must inflate within a b link
of an eye and with cons iderab le force. In orde r
to do i ts job , the airbag needs room to inflate
so that it will be there to protect the occupant
as the occupant moves forward into the air bag.
A vehicle occupant who is o ut of position and
too close to the airbag ge ts i n the way o f an inflating airbag. When an occ
upant is too
close, he or she will be st ruck violently and
will rece ive serious or possib ly even fatal in
j ury.
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is
important that a ll vehicle occupants, especial
l y any children, who m ust be in the front seat
because of exceptiona l circumstances, be
properly restrained and as far away from the
airbag as possible . By keeping room between
the ch ild's body and the front of the passen
ger compa rtment, the a irbag can inflate com
pletely and p rov ide supplementa l prote ction
i n cer tain frontal collisions.
A WARNING
N ot using a booste r seat, using the boos
ter seat improperly, incorrectly installing a booster seat or using the vehicle safety
belt improperly increases the risk of seri
ous persona l injury and death in a collision
or other emergency situat ion. To he lp re
duce the risk of serious personal injury
and/or death:
- The shou lder belt must lie as close to the
center of the ch ild's collar bone as possi
b le and must lie flat and snug on the up
pe r body.
It must neve r lie across the
throat or ne ck. The lap belt mus t lie
across the pe lvis and neve r ac ross the
stomach o r abdomen . Make sure that the
be lt lies flat and snug. P ull on the belt to
tighten if necessary .
- Fai lure to p roperly ro ute safety belts
over a child's body will ca use seve re in ju
ries in an accident or other emergency
situation ¢
page 135.
-The rear side o f the child safety seat
should be pos itioned as close as possib le
to the backrest on the vehicle seat.
- For ad justab le head restraints: adjust or
remove the rear seat head restra int if it
is difficult to install the child seat w ith
the head restraint in place¢
page 59. In
stall the head restraint again immed iate-
ly o nce the child seat is removed. Dr iv ing
Ii),
