2016 AUDI A3 seat adjustment

Airbag syste m
Airbag system
Important information
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . For
airbags to do their job, occupants must always
properly wear their safety belts and be in a prop ­
er seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
ge rs , before driving off, always :
"' Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly ¢
page 167,
"'Adjust the front passenge r's seat properly
¢ page 58,
"'Wear safety belts p roperly ¢ page 178 ,
"'Always properly use the proper child restraint
to protect children ¢
page 209.
In a coll is io n, airbags mus t inflate within the
blink of an eye and wi th considerab le force . The
supp lemental airbags can cause injuries if the
driv er or th e front s eat passeng er is not s eated
properly. Therefore in order to he lp the airbag to
do its job, it is important, both as a dr iver and as
a passenger to sit properly at all t imes.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering whee l and the front of the passenger
compartment, the a irbag can inflate fully and
completely and provide supplemental protect ion
in certain frontal collisions
¢ page 167, Correct
passenger seating positions .
For details on the
operation of the seat adjustment con trols
¢ page 58.
It's especially important that children are proper ­
ly restra ined ¢
page 209 .
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers
can and must do to help the ind iv idual safety fea­
tures installed in your Audi work together as a
system .
Proper seating posit ion is important so that the
front airbag on the drive r side can do its job. If
you have a physical impairment or cond ition that
prevents you from s itting properly on the driver
seat with the safety be lt properly fastened and
184
reaching the peda ls, or if yo u have concerns w ith
regard to the function or operation of the Ad­
vanced Airbag System, please contact your a u­
thori zed Audi dea ler or qua lified workshop, or
ca ll Audi Customer Relations at 1-800-822-2834
for poss ib le modifications to your vehicle .
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas generator
will fill the airbags, break open the padded cov­ ers, and infla te between the steering wheel and
the driver and between the instrument panel and
t h e front passenger . The airbags w il l deflate im­
med iate ly after deployment so that the front oc­
cupants can see t hrou gh the windsh ie ld again
without i nterruption.
All of th is takes p lace in the b link of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even rea lize that the
a irbags have deployed. The airbags a lso infla te
with a g re at deal of force and nothing should be
i n the ir way when they deploy. Front airbags in
combination with properly worn safety belts slow
down and limit the occupant 's forward move­
ment . Together they he lp to prevent the driver
and front seat passenger from hitting pa rts of
the ins ide of the vehicle while reduc ing the fo rces
acting on the occupant dur ing the cras h. In th is
way they help to reduce the risk of injury to the
head and uppe r body i n the crash . Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower pa rts of the body.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all frontal
collisions . The t riggering of the a irbag system de­
pends on the veh icle decelerat ion rate caused by
t h e coll is io n and regis tered by the ele ctroni c con ­
tro l unit . If this ra te is be low the refe rence value
programmed in to the contro l unit, the airbags
will not be trigge red, even tho ugh the car may be
badly damaged as a resu lt of the co llision. Vehi­
cle damage, rep air costs or even the lack of vehi­
cle damage is not necessarily an indication of
whether an a irbag should inflate or not .
Since the circumstances will vary cons iderab ly
between one co llision and another, it is not possi ­
ble to define a range of veh icle speeds that will
cover every poss ible kind and angle of impact
that w ill always t rigger t he a irbags . Important
factors i nclude, for examp le, the nat ure (hard or
soft) of the object which the ca r hits, the angle of
i mp act , vehicle speed , etc. The front airbags will .,.

,....,
N
0 > co ,...., Always remember, a child seat or infant carrier
installed on the front seat may be struck and
knocked out of position by t he rapidly inflating
passenger's airbag in a frontal co llision . The air­
bag could greatly reduce the effectiveness of the
chi ld restraint a nd even seriously i njure the ch ild
during inflation .
For this reason, and because the back seat is the
safest place for ch ildren -when properly restra in­
ed according to the ir age and size -we strongly
recommend that children always sit in the back
seat
Q page 209, Child safety.
.8, WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld seat insta l­
led on the front passenger seat will be ser i­
ously injured and can be k illed if the front air­
bag inf lates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child seat or
infant carrier with great fo rce and will
smash the ch ild seat and child against the
backrest, center arm rest, door or roof.
- Always ins tall rear-facing child seats on the
rear seat.
-If you must install a rearward fac ing child
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptiona l circumstances and the
PASSEN·
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately insta ll the rear­
facing child seat in a rea r seat ing position
and have the airbag system inspected by
yo ur Audi dealer.
- Forward-fac ing ch ild seats insta lled on the
front passenge r's seat may interfe re with
the deployment of the airbag and ca use se­
rious person al injury to the child.
.8, WARNING
If, in except io nal circumst ances, you mus t in­
stall a forward-f acing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always ma ke sure the forwar d-fa cing se at
has been designed and ce rtified by its man ­
ufact urer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and s ide a irbag .
.
Airb ag sys tem
-Never put the fo rward-facing child restraint
up aga inst or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost posit ion in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the a ir­
bag as possible before installing the for­
ward-facing chi ld restraint. The backrest
must be adjusted to an upr ight position .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on a ll the time
wheneve r th e ignit ion is switched on.
.8, WARNING
To reduce t he ris k of serious injury, ma ke sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li gh t will
be d isplayed whenever a child res traint is in­
stalled on the front passenger seat and the ignition is switched on.
- If th e
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght does
not stay on, perform the checks described
¢ page 196, Monitoring the Advanced Air ­
bag System.
- Take the child restra int off t he front passen ­
ger seat and install it prope rly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the ai rbag system inspected by your
Aud i deale r immediately.
- Always care fully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacture rs when instal­
ling child restra ints.
.8, WARNING
--
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you must in­
stall a forward or rearward-facing child re­
stra int on the fron t passenger's seat :
- Improper installat io n of child restraints can
reduce the ir effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any pro tect ion.
- An improperly installed child restra int can
interfere wi th the airbag as it deploys and
serio usly injure or even kill th e chi ld -even
with a n Advan ced A irbag System.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
i n str uctions provided with the child seat or
car rie r.
187

,....,
N
0 > co ,...., A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat instal­
led on the front passenger seat will be seri­
ously injured and can be killed if the front air­
bag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
-Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front
airbag when a rearward-facing child re­
straint has been installed on the front pas­
senger seat, nobody can absolutely guaran­
tee that deployment is impossible in all con­ ceivable situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child seat or
infant carrier with great force and will
smash the child seat and child against the backrest, center armrest, door, or roof.
-Always install rearward-facing child re­ straints on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional circumstances and the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on
and stay on, immediately install the rear­
facing child seat in a rear seating position and have the airbag system inspected by
your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air­
bag as possible, before installing the for­
ward-facing child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position.
Airbag system
-Always make sure that there is nothing on
the front passenger seat that will cause the
capacitive passenger detection system in
the seat to signal to the Airbag System that
the seat is occupied by a person when it is
not, or to signal that it is occupied by some­
one who is heavier than the person actually
sitting on the seat. The presence of addi­
tional objects could cause the passenger
front airbag to be turned on when it should
be off, or could cause the airbag to work in a
way that is different from the way it would have worked without the object on the seat.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a lot
of very important parts of the Advanced Airbag
System in it . These parts include the capacitive
passenger detection system, wiring, brackets,
and more. The control unit monitors the system
on the front passenger seat when the ignition is
switched on and turns the airbag indicator light
on when a malfunction in the one of the system
components is detected
¢ page 196. Because
the front passenger seat contains important
parts of the Advanced Airbag System, you must
take care to prevent it from being damaged.
Damage to the seat may prevent the Advanced
Airbag System for the front passenger seat from
doing its job in a crash.
The front Advanced Airbag System consists
of the following:
-Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle acceleration/deceleration to
provide information to the Advanced Airbag
System about the severity of the crash.
- An electronic control unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts. The
control unit "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the information received from
the crash sensors. The control unit also "de­
cides" whether the safety belt pretensioners
should be activated.
111-
191

,....,
N
0 > co ,...., -If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you must
insta ll a forward-fac ing ch il d restraint on
the front passenger seat, always move the
seat into its rearmost pos ition in the seat's
fore and aft adjustment range, as far away
from the airbag as possib le . The backrest
must be ad justed to an up right posit ion.
Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on .
A WARNING
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not go out when an ad ult is sitting on the
front passenger seat after taking the steps
described above, make sure the adu lt is
properly seated and restrained at one of the
rear seat ing pos itions .
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer before transport ing anyone on
the front passenger seat .
If the capacitive passenger detection system
determines that the front passenger seat is
empty, the frontal airbag on the passenge r
side w ill be tu rned off, and the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will stay on .
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Pa rts of t he air bag system are i nstalled at many
d ifferen t places on your Aud i. Insta lling , remov­
ing, servi cing or repa iring a part in an area of the
ve hicle can damage a part of an airbag system
and prevent that system from working properly
in a co llision .
There are some important things you have to
know to mak e sure that the effectiveness of the
system wi ll not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or poll ute the
env ironment.
A WARNING
Improper care, serv icing and repa ir proce­
dures can increase the r isk of personal injury
and death by preventing an airbag from de-
-
Airb ag sys tem
ploying when needed or deploy ing an a irbag
unexpectedly:
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the steer­
ing wheel ho rn pad or airbag cover or the in­
strument panel or modify them in any way.
- Never attach any ob jects s uch as c up ho lders
or telephone mountings to the surfaces cov­
ering the a irbag un its.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instr ument
panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one mois­
tened with p lain water. Solvents or cleaners
could damage the airbag cove r or change
the st iffness o r strength of the material so
that the ai rbag cannot deploy and p rotect
p rope rly.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of
the airbag system.
- All work on the steering wheel, inst rument
panel, front seats or e lectr ica l system ( in­
cludi ng the ins tall ation of a udio eq uipment,
cellular telephones and C B radios , etc.)
m ust be performed by a qualif ied techn ic ian
who has the t raining and spec ial equ ipment
necessary.
- For any wo rk on the airbag system, we
strong ly recommend that you see yo ur au­
thor ized Audi dealer or qualif ied workshop .
- Never modify the front bumpe r or parts of
the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the s ide a irbag can
inflate w ithout interference:
- Never install seat covers or replacement
upholste ry ove r the front seatbacks that
have not been specifica lly approved by
Audi .
- Never use additional seat c ushions that
cove r the areas where the sid e airbags in­
flate.
- Damage to the orig inal seat cove rs or to
the seam in the area of the s ide airbag
module must always be repaired immedi­
ate ly by an au thori ze d Aud i dealer .
- The airb ag system can deploy on ly once. Af­
ter an airb ag h as been deployed, i t must be
replaced with new replacement parts de­
signed and approve d espec ially for your
Audi mo del version . Replacement of com­
p lete airbag systems or airbag components
199

Child safety
exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system inspected immediately by your Audi dealer .
A WARNING
-Forward-facing child seats installed on the
front passenger seat may interfere with the deployment of the airbag and cause serious
personal injury to the child.
- If exceptional circumstances require the use
of a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat, the child's safety
and well-being require the following special
precautions to be taken:
- Always make sure that the forward-facing seat has been designed and certified by its
manufacturer for use on a front passenger
seat with a front and side airbag.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child seat
or infant carrier.
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions require the top tether strap to be used.
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up against or very near the instru­
ment panel.
-Always set the safety belt upper anchor­
age to the adjustment position that per­
mits proper installation in accordance
with the child restraint manufacturer's in­
structions.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing the
child restraint. The backrest must be ad ­
justed to an upright position .
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being moved to the rearmost position in its fore
and aft adjustment range .
210
-Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD player, electronic games de­
vice, power inverter or seat heater for
child seats) . These may influence the elec­
trical capacitance measured by the capaci­
tive passenger detection system and can
also fly around in an accident and cause
serious personal injury.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heat­
er for child seats) on the front passenger
seat if the device is connected to the 12-
volt socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger seat, never install any child restraint sys­
tem on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or oth­
er liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion.
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on
all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immediate­ ly install the forward-facing child seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer.
- Always buckle the child seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child seat can fly around during a
sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restraint in a vehi­
cle ¢
page 176, Safety belts, ¢ page 184,
Airbag system
and ¢ page 209, Impor­
tant information.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were in­
stalled in a vehicle during a crash. Damage to
a child restraint that is not visible could cause
it to fail in another collision situation.

Child safety
-Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certified by its manu­
facturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag .
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safety
seat o r carrier .
- Always move the front passenger seat into
the rearmost position of the passenger
seat's fore a nd aft adjustment range, and
as far away from the airbag as possible be­
fore insta lling the child restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenge r's seat from be ing
moved to the rearmost posit ion in its fore
and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure that the back rest is in
the upr ight position.
- Never place or use any e lectr ica l device
(such as a laptop, CD player, e lectron ic
g ames device, power inve rter or sea t heat­
er for ch ild seats) on the front passenger
seat if the device is connected to the 12 -
volt socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any chi ld restraint sys­
tem on th is seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or oth­
er liqu ids on the front passenger seat
cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD p layer, electron ic games de­
vice, power inverter or seat heater for
child seats). These may influence the elec­
trical capacitance measured by the capaci­ tive passenge r detection system and can
a lso fly around in an accident and cause
serio us personal in jury.
- Always bu ckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a child is not s itting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a collisio n.
- Always re ad a nd heed all WARN INGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
¢ page 176, Safety belts,
214
c::> page 184, Airbag system and
c::> page 209 , Child safety.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on whenever a ch ild re­
stra int is installed on the front passenger seat
and the ign ition is switched on.
- Take the child restra int off the front passen­
ge r seat and install it prope rly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does no t stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
author ized Audi dealer immed iate ly.
Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
Fi g. 173 Schema tic overv iew: keep unused safety belts
away from children in c hild safety seats.@· outer rear
safety belt,@· ce nter rear safety belt*
If a child safety seat is used on the rear bench,
especially with LATCH universal lower anchorag­
es, the unused safety belts
must be sec ured so
that the c hild in the child rest raint cannot reach
them
c::> _&. .
- Guide the safety belt webbings @and @* be­
hind the head restraint of the seat where the
child restra int is installed
c::> fig. 173. When do­
ing so, do not engage the convert ible locking
ret ra ctor! You should not hear a "cl icking"
sound when winding up the sa fe ty belt.
- Let the belt ret racto r wind up the safety belt
webbing.

,....,
N
0 > co ,...., personal injury and death in a collision or oth­
er emergency situation.
- Children on the front seat of any car, even
with Advanced Airbags, can be seriously in­
jured or even killed when an airbag inflates. A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating a irbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the ch ild safety seat and chi ld
against the bac krest, center arm rest, door
or roo f.
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptiona l circumstances and the
PASSENGE R AIR B AG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediate ly install
the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a rear
seating pos ition and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
- The rear side of the child safety seat should
be pos it ioned as close as poss ible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat.
- For adjustable head restraints: adjust or re­
move the rear seat head restraint if it is d if­
ficult to install the child seat with the head restra int in place ¢
page 60. Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed. Driving w ithout head
restra ints or w ith head restraints that are
not properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is being used ¢
page 176, Safety belts,
¢ page 184, Airbag system
and
¢ page 209, Important information.
A WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the use
of a forward-facing child restra int on the
front passenger's seat, the child's safety and
Ch ild safety
well-being req uire that the following special
precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has been
des igned and certified by its manufacturer
for use on a front seat with a passenger
front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's instruc­
tions provided with the child safety seat or
infant carrier .
- Always move the front passenger seat into
the rearmost pos ition of the passenger
seat's fore and aft adjustment range, and as
far away from the airbag as possible before
installing the ch ild rest raint .
- Always make sure that nothing prevents the front passenger's seat from being moved to the rea rmost pos ition in its fore and aft ad­
justment range .
- Always make sure the backrest is in an up­
right position .
- Never p lace or use any electr ica l device
(such as a laptop , CD player, e lectron ic
games device , power inve rter or sea t heater
for child sea ts) on the front passenger seat
if the device is connected to the 12 -volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
- I f a seat heater has been retrofi tted or o th­
erwise added to the front passenger seat, never install any child restra int system on
this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or other
liquids on the front passenger seat cush ion.
- Never p lace objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD p layer, electronic games device,
power inverter o r seat heater for ch ild
seats). These may influence the electrical
capacitance measured by the capacitive pas­
senger detect ion system and can also fly
aro und in an accident and cause serious per­
sonal injury.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on a ll the time
wheneve r the ignit ion is swit ched on.
- I f the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
no t come on and stay on, immediately in­
s tall the forward-fac ing ch ild seat at a sea t-
ing position on the rear seat and have the ...,
217

Child safety
airbag system inspected by your authorized
Audi dealer.
- Take the child restraint off the front passen­
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on .
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats con help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs. and 80
lbs. (18 kg and 36 kg) who ore less than 4
ft. 9
in . (57 inches/1 .45 meters) toll .
Fig. 177 Rear seat: c hil d p rop erly restrain ed in a booster
seat
"' ,...
i i
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit most
children until they are at least 4
ft. 9 in . (57 in­
ches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about 80 lbs .
(36 kg). Booster seats raise these chi ldren up so
that the safety belt will pass properly over the
stronger parts of their bodies and the safety bel t
can help protect them in a crash.
• Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety bel t to rest rain
a chi ld on a boos ter seat.
• The shoulder be lt must lie as close to the cen­
ter of the child's collar bone as possible and
must lie flat and snug on the upper body. It
must never lie across the throat or neck. The
lap belt must lie across the pelv is and never
across the stomach or abdomen . Make sure the
belt lies flat and snug. Pull on the belt to tight­
en if necessary .
• If you must transpo rt an older child in a boos­
ter seat on the front passenger seat, you can
use the safety belt he ight adjustment to help
adjust the shoulder portion properly .
218
• Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
r=;, page 214 .
Children up to at least 8 years o ld (over 40 lbs or
18 kg) are best protected in child safety seats de­
signed for their age and weight. Experts say that
the skeletal structure, particularly the pelvis, of
these children is not fully developed, and they
must not use the vehicle safety belts without a
su itable child restraint.
It is usually best to put these chi ldren in appro ­
priate booster seats. Be sure the booster seat
meets all applicable safety standards.
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
chi ld 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 the ch ild's body is very important
for the child's p rotection, whether or not a boos­
te r seat is used. Children age 12 and under must
always ride in the rear seat.
Children who are at least 4
ft . 9 in . (57 inches/
1.45 meters) tall can generally use the vehicle's
three point lap and shoulder belts. Never use the
l ap belt portion of the veh icle's safety belt a lone
to restrain any child, regard less of how big the
child is. Always remember that children do not
have the pronounced pelvic structure required for
the proper function of lap be lt portion of the ve ­
hicle's three point lap and shoulder belts. The
child's safety abso lutely requires that a lap belt
portion of the safety belt be fastened snugly and
as low as possible around the pelvis . Never let
the lap belt portion of the safety belt pass over
the chi ld's stomach or abdomen .
In a crash, airbags must inflate with in a blink of
an eye and with considerab le force . In order to do
its job, the airbag needs room to inflate so that it
will be there to protect the occupant as the occu­
pant moves forwa rd into the airbag .
A vehicle occupant who is out of pos it ion and too
close to the a irbag gets in the way of an inflating
a irbag . When an occupant is too close, he or she
will be struck violent ly and will rece ive serious or
possibly even fata l injury. ..,.