Child safety
-Always make sure the seat backrest to which
the child restraint is installed is in an up
right position and securely latched into
place and cannot fold forward. Otherwise,
the seatback with the child safety seat at
tached to it could fly forward in the event of
an accident or other emergency situation.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
c> page 292 . Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger
seat ¢ page 268, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor
tant things to know.
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
The convertible Locking retractor for child re
straints will be deactivated automatically when
the belt is wound all the way bock into the re
tractor .
~ Press the red button on the safety belt buckle .
Th@ belt tongue will pop out of the buckle.
~ Guide the safety belt all the way back into its
stowed position .
Always let the safety belt retract completely into
its stowed position . The safety belt can now be
used as an ordinary safety belt without the con
vertible locking retractor for child restraints .
If the convertible locking retractor should be ac
tivated inadvertently, the safety belt must be un
fastened and guided completely back into its
stowed position to deactivate this feature. If the
convertible lock ing retractor is not deactivated,
the safety belt will gradually become tighter and
uncomfortable to wear.
A WARNING
-
Improperly installed child safety seats in
crease the risk of serious personal injury and
death in a collision.
- Never unfasten the safety belt to deactivate
the convertible locking retractor for child re straints while the vehicle is moving . You
306
would not be restrained and could be seri
ously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is being used
c> page 292. Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat
c> page 268, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor
tant things to know.
LATCH system (lower
anchorages and tethers
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 special lower ancho
rages in vehicles and devices on new child re
straints to attach to the vehicle anchorages .
In the United States, the combination of the
tether anchorages and the lower anchorages is
now generally called the LATCH system for
"Lower Anchorages and Tethers for Children" . In
Canada, the terms "top tether" with "lower uni
versal anchorages" (or "lower universal anchor
age bars") are used to describe the system .
In other countries the term "ISOFIX" is used to
describe the lower anchorages .
Forward-facing child restraints manufactured af
ter September 1, 1999, are required by U.S. fed
eral regulations to comply with new child head
movement performance requirements . These
new performance requirements make a tether
necessary on most new child safety seats.
Installing a child restraint that requires a top
tether without one can seriously impair the per
formance of the child restraint and its ab ility 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.
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