Child safety
use the safety belt height adjustment to help
adjust the shoulder portion properly .
~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
<=>page 142.
Children up to at least 8 years old (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
suitable child restraint.
It is usually best to put these children in appro priate 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 the child's body is very important
for the child's protection , whether or not a boos
ter 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
lap belt portion of the vehicle's safety belt alone
to restrain any child, regardless of how big the
child is. Always remember that children do not
have the pronounced pelvic structure required for
the proper function of lap belt portion of the ve
hicle 's three point lap and shoulder belts. The
child 's safety absolutely 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 child's stomach or abdomen.
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink of
an eye and with considerable 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 forward into the airbag.
A vehicle occupant who is out of position and too
close to the airbag gets in the way of an inflating
airbag. When an occupant is too close, he or she
will be struck violently and will receive serious or
possibly even fatal injury.
146
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants , especially
any children, who must be in the front seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances, be properly
restrained and as far away from the airbag as
possible. By keeping room between the child's
body and the front of the passenger compart
ment, the airbag can inflate completely and pro
vide supplemental protection in certain frontal
collisions.
.&_ WARNING
Not using a booster seat, using the booster
seat improperly, incorrectly installing a boos
ter seat or using the vehicle safety belt im
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death in a collision or other emer
gency situation. To help reduce the risk of se rious personal injury and/or death:
- The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center 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 pelvis
and never across the stomach or abdomen.
Make sure the belt lies flat and snug. Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary.
- Failure to properly route safety belts over a
child's body will cause severe injuries in an
accident or other emergency situation
r=:> page 109.
- The rear side of the child safety seat should
be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat. Adjust or re
move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif
ficult to install the child seat with the head
restraint in placer=;,
page 46. Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed . Driving without head
restraints or with head restraints that are
not properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Never let a child put the shoulder belt under
the arm or behind the back, because it could
cause severe injuries in a crash.
- 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:,
a:,
...... N r-,. N
'"' 0 0 ::, a:,
The illustration shows the seating locations in
your vehicle which are equipped with the lower
anchorages system.
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked for
quick locating.
Fig. 129 Rea r seats: lowe r ancho rages, covers marked
Fig. 130 Rear seats: lower anc ho rage bracket locations
Lower anchorages
The lower anchorage attachment points are lo
cated between the rear seatback and rear seat
cushion .
Remove the covers¢
fig. 129 to access the lower
anchorage attachment points .
The lower anchorage attachment points are visi
b le
¢ fig. 130.
Lower anchorages secure the c hild restraint in
the seat without using the vehicle's safety belts.
Anchorages provide a secure and easy-to-use at
tachment and minim ize the possibility of improp
er chi ld restraint installation.
All child restraints manufactured after Septem ber 1, 2002, must have lower anchorage attach
ments for the
LATCH system.
Child safety
Remember that the lower anchorage points are
only intended for installation and attachment of
c h ild restraints specifically certified for use with
LATCH lower anchorages. Child restraints that
are not equipped with the lower anchorage at
tachments can still be installed in compliance
with the ch ild restraint manufacturer's instruc
tions on using vehicle safety belts.
_&. WARNING
Impro per use of LATCH lower anchorages can
cause serious personal injury in an accident.
- Always carefully follow the child restraints
manufacture r's instruc tions for proper in
stallation of the child restrain t and proper
use of the lower a hchorages or safety belts
in your vehicle.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or other
items to the
LATCH lower anchorages .
- Always read and heed the important info r
mation about child restraints in this chapter
and WARNINGS
r=>page 137, Child safety.
Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you install a child restraint always fol
low the child restraint manufacturer's instruc
tions.
Fig . 131 Lower anchorages : proper mounting
Mounting
"'M ake sure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is in the upright pos ition and securely la tched
in place .
"' Attach both hook-on connectors with the spr ing
catch release on the child safety seat onto the
IJJ,,
151