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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 child restraint on the vehicle
seat, Federal regu lations require special lower
anchorages in vehicles 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 TCH system for "Lower Anchorages and
Tethers for Children ."
F orward-facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S.
federal regulations to comply with new ch ild
head movement performance requirements .
T hese new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new child seats.
I nstalling a chi ld restraint that requires a top
tether without one can seriously impair the
performance of the chi ld restraint and its ab il
ity to protect the child in a co llision . Installing
a child restraint that requires a top tether
without the top tether may be a v iolation of
state law.
Ch ild restraint manufacturers offer LATCH
lower anchorages on their ch ild seats with
hook -on or push-on connectors attached to
adj ustable 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 .
A WARNING
Improper insta llation of chi ld restraints
w ill increase the risk of inju ry and death in
a crash.
- Always follow the instructions p rov ided
by the manufacturer of the ch ild re-
Child S afety 1 79
straint you intend to install in your vehi
cle.
- Never install a chi ld 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 . The LATC H lowe r anchorage
points ar e designed to withstand on ly
those loads imposed by correctly fitted
child restraints.
- Never mo unt two ch ild restra int systems
on one LATC H lower anchorage point.
- Never secure or a ttach any luggage or
o ther item to the LATCH lower anchorag
es.
a) Tips
In Canada, the terms "top tether" with
"lower u niversal anchorages" (or "lower
universa l anchorage ba rs") are used to de
scribe the sys tem.
- In other countries, the t erm " ISOFIX" is
used to describe the lower a nch o rages.
Location
Fi g. 16 6 Schema tic overv iew: LA TCH ancho rage point
l ocations
T he illust rat ion shows the seati ng loca tions in
yo ur vehicle which are equipped with the low
er anchorages system.
