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LATCH system (lower
anchorages and tethers
for children)
Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
To prov ide a simpler and more practicable way to
attach the child restra int on the vehi cle seat,
F eder al reg ulat ions req uire speci al lower ancho
rages in vehicles and dev ices on new child re
straints to at tach to the vehicle anchorages .
The combination of the tether a nchorages and
the lower a nchorages is now genera lly called the
LATCH system for " Lower Anchorages an d
T ethers fo r Ch ildren."
F orwa rd-facing child res tra ints man ufactu red af
ter September 1, 1999, are required by U .S. fed
e ral regulations to comply with new child head
movement performance requirements. These
new performance requirements make a tethe r
necessary on most new child seats.
I nstall ing a child restraint that requ ires a top
tether witho ut one can serio usly impair the per
formance of the chi ld restraint and its ability to
protect the chi ld in a collision. Installing a chi ld
restraint t hat requires a top tether w ithout the
top tether may be a v iolation of state law.
C hild rest raint manufacturers offer LATCH lower
anchorages on the ir ch ild seats with hook -on or
push-on connectors attached to adjustable
straps.
In addition to the LATCH lower anchorages, these
child restraint systems usually require the use of
tether straps to he lp keep the child restraint
f irm ly in place.
Tether anchorag es
Your Audi Cabriolet is not equ ipped with a LATCH
system . It is not equipped with top tether ancho
rages . It is equ ipped with lower anchorages o nly.
Your Cab riole t is equipped wi th t he Active Ro ll
over Protection System, which is integrated into
the backrest of the rear seat . The Active Rollove r
Protection System dep loys upwards to help pro
vide addit ional protection in certain collisions
Child safety
and crash situations. For this reason, your vehicle
is
not equipped wit h top tether anchorages for
u se with fo rwa rd -facing child restra ints .
In Canada , provincial law requ ires th at forward
f acing child res traints use both top tether ancho
rages and lower anchorages; therefo re, it is
not
possible to install a fo rwa rd -f acing child re
straint in this vehicle.
In the United States , ch ild restraint installation
must conform with the chi ld restraint manufac
tu rer's instruct ions . Check the instr uctions that
come with the child restraint or contact the man
ufacturer to determ ine if the child restra int may
be insta lled facing forward without securing the
top tether s trap.
A WARNING ,..__ -Im proper installa tion of child restra ints w ill
i nc rease the risk of injury and dea th in a
crash.
- Always follow t he in structions prov ided by
the ma nufactu rer of t he ch ild restraint you
i n te nd to inst all in you r vehicle.
- I mp roper use of chi ld restraint LA T CH lower
a nchorage poin ts c an le ad to inju ry in a col li
sion. The LA TCH lower an cho rage points are
des igned to w ithstand only those loads im
posed by correctly fitted child restraints .
- Never mo unt two child res traint systems on
one LATCH lowe r anchorage point.
- Never secure or atta ch any lug gage o r othe r
item to the LA TCH lower anchorages .
(D Tips
In other cou ntries, the term "ISOFIX" is used
t o des cribe the lower anchorages.
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