2018 AUDI Q5 ESP

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How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help re­
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu­
pants who are properly restrained.
Fig. 238 Inflated side airbags on left side of vehicle , rea r
side airbag optiona l equipment
When the system is triggered, the airbag is filled
with propellant gas and breaks through a seam in the seat surface area.
It expands between the
side trim panel and the passenger. In order to
help provide this additional protection, the side
airbag must inflate within a fraction of a second
at very high speed and with great force. The sup­ p leme ntal side airbag could injure you if your
seating position is not proper or upright or if
items are located in the area where the supp le­
mental side airbag expands. This applies espe­
cially to children
<=:>page 291, Child safety . Sup­
plemental side airbags inflate between the occu­
pant and the door panel on the side of the vehicle
that is struck in certain side collision<=:>
fig. 238.
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the upper part
of the body.
A fine dust may develop when the airbag deploys.
This is normal and does not mean there is a fire
in the vehicle.
Airbag system
Important safety instructions on the side
airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Always
properly wear safety belts and ride in a proper
seating position .
There is a lot that you and your passengers must
know and act accordingly to help the safety belts
and airbags do their job to provide supplemental
protection.
_&. WARNING
An inflating side airbag can cause serious or
fatal injury. Improperly wearing safety belts
and improper seating positions increase the
risk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- In order to reduce the risk of injury when
the supplemental side airbag inflates:
- Always sit in an upright position and never
lean against the area where the supple­
mental side airbag is located.
- Never let a child or anyone else rest their
head against the side trim panel in the
area where the supplemental side airbag inflates.
- Always make sure that safety belts are
worn correctly,
- Do not let anyone sitting in the front seat
put their hand or any other parts of their
body out of the window.
- Always make sure that the side airbag can
inflate without interference.
- Never install seat covers or replacement
upholstery over the front seatbacks that
have not been specifically approved by
Audi.
- Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags de­ ploy.
- Damage to the original seat covers or to
the seam in the area of the side airbag
module must always be repaired immedi­
ately by an authorized Audi dealer.
-
- Objects between you and the airbag can in­
crease the risk of injury in an accident by in­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds or
.,.
287

Airbag syste m
seating position is not proper or upright or if
items are located in the area where the supp le­
mental side curtain airbag inf lates . This applies
especia lly to children
c::> page 291.
A lthough they are not a soft pi llow, side curtain
airbags can "cushion" the impact and in this way
they can help to reduce the risk of injury to the
head and the upper part of the body.
A fine dust may deve lop when the airbag deploys .
This is quite normal and does not mean there is a
f ire in the veh icle .
Important safety instructions on the side
curtain airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Always
properly wear safety belts and ride in a proper
seating position .
There is a lot that you and your passengers must
know and do to help the safety be lts and airbags
do their job to provide supplemental protect ion.
A WARNING
Improperly wearing safety belts and improper
seating posit ions increase the risk of serious
personal inju ry and death whenever a vehicle
is being used.
- Never let occupants p lace any parts of the ir
bodies in the area from which the side cur­
ta in a irbag inflate.
- Always make sure that the side curtain air­
bags can inflate witho ut interference.
- Use the built- in coat hooks on ly for light­
weight cloth ing. Neve r leave any heavy or
sharp-edged objects in the pockets th at may
interfere w ith airbag deployment and can
ca use personal injury in a collision.
- Never use hangers to hang clothes on the
hoo ks.
- Only use factory-installed s un shades or, if
shades installed after the veh icle leaves the
factory, use only genuine Audi sun shades.
- Never swing the sun viso rs ove r to the side
windows if things such as pens, garage door
openers, hands-free speakers, etc. are at­
tached to the sun visors. They could come
290
loose and cause serious injury if the side cu r­
tain airbag inflates.
- A deploying airbag inflates in a fraction of a
second and with great force.
- Never attach objects to the cover or in the
deployment zone of a side curtain airbag .
- The airbag deployment zones must be kept clear at all times. Make s ure there are no
objects, pets, or othe r persons in the space
between any vehicle occupant and any air­
bag at any time.
- Do not attach any accessories to the doors.
A WARNING
- The a irbag system can deploy on ly once. If
the airbag has been triggered, the system
m ust be replaced by an authorized A udi
deale r or qualified workshop .
- Always have work invo lv ing the side curtain
airbag system, removal and installat ion of
the airbag components, or other repairs
pe rformed by a q ualified dealership. Other­
w ise the airbag system may not work cor­
rectly.
- Never attempt to mod ify a ny components of
the airbag system in any way.

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Child safety
Important information
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision .
The physical principles of what happens when
your vehicle is in a crash apply also to children
c> page 262, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults and
teenagers, their muscles and bones are not fully
developed. In many respects children a re at
greater r isk of se rious injury in c rashes than
ad ults .
Because ch ildren's bodies are not fully devel­
oped, they requ ire restra int systems especially
des igned for their size, we ight, and body struc ­
ture. Many coun tries and a ll states of the United
States and p rovinces of Canada have laws requi r­
ing the use of approved child restraint systems
for infants and small children .
In a frontal crash at a speed of 20 - 35 mph (30 -
56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-pound (6 kg)
infant will be more than 20 times the weight of
the child . This means the weight of the chi ld
wou ld suddenly be more than 260 pounds
(120 kg) . Under these condit ions, only an appro­
priate ch ild restraint properly used can reduce
the r isk of serious injury . Child restra ints, like
adu lt safety belts, must be used properly to be
effect ive. Used imp roperly, they can increase the
risk of ser ious injury in an acc ident .
All ch ildren, especially those 12 years and you ng­
er must a lways r ide in the back seat properly re­
stra ined fo r their age and size. If you must insta ll
a child restra int on t he front passenger seat in
exceptional circumstances, be sure to read and h eed the important information and warnings
c> page 270. Infants and other chi ldren who are
properly restrained in an appropriate child re ­
stra int that is for their si ze and age can benefit
from the protection that supplemental s ide air­
bags provide in some kinds of crashes .
For more information please see information
provided by the:
Ch ild saf ety
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA), currently at: http ://www .safe­
rcar.gov (for the USA)
- Transport Canada Information Centre, current-
ly at: http://www .tc .gc .ca (for Canada)
Cons ult the ch ild safety seat manuf acture r's in­
structions in order to be sure t he seat is right for
yo ur chi ld's size
c> page 295 , Important safety
instructions for using child safety seats .
Please
be sure to read and heed all of the important in­
format ion and WARNINGS about ch ild safety,
Advanced Airbags, and the installation of child
restra ints in this chapter .
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad­
vanced Airbags in your veh icle and how they work
whe n infants and children in child restraints are
on the fro nt passenger seat . Because of the large
amount of important informat ion, we cannot re­
peat it all he re . We u rge you to read the detailed
i nformat ion in this owner 's ma nual about airbags
and the Advanced Airbag Sys tem in yo ur veh icle
and the very important information about trans ­
porting children on the front passenger seat.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they are
extremely important for your safety and the safe­
ty of your passengers, especially infants and
small ch ildren .
A WARNING
-
-Accide nt statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
i n the front seat ing pos it ion. Always restrain
a ny child age 12 and unde r in t he rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially children
m ust be restra ined prope rly whe never r id ing
i n a vehicle. An u nres tra ined o r improperly
rest rained chi ld cou ld be inju red by st riking
the interio r or by being ejected from the ve ­
hicle during a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestrained or improperly restrained
child is a lso at greater r isk of injury or death
through contact w it h an inflating a irbag.
- A suitable ch ild restraint properly installed
and used at one of the rear seating positions
prov ides the h ighest degree of protect io n
for infants and small children in most acc i­
dent situat ions .
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on all the time whenever the ignition is
sw itched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~. light
does not come on and stay on, immediate­
ly insta ll the forward-facing child seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your authorized Aud i
deale r.
- Always buckle the chi ld seat firmly in
place even if a ch ild is not sitt ing in it. A
loose ch ild seat ca n fly around during a
sudden stop o r in a coll is ion.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
wheneve r us ing a ch ild restraint in a veh i­
cle
~ page 261, Safety belts, ~ page 269,
Airbag system and ~page 291, Impor­
tant information .
(j) Tips
Always replace ch ild restraints that were in­
stalled in a veh icle dur ing a crash. Damage to
a child restra int tha t is not visib le co uld cause
it to fail in another collision situation .
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced Air­
bag System" in comp liance with United States
Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
208, as well as Canada Motor Veh icle Safety
Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the t ime
your ve hicle was manufactured .
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle has
been certified to meet the "low-risk" requ ire­
ments for 3- and 6-year old children on the pas­
senger side and small adults on the driver side.
The low risk deployment crite ria are intended to
reduce t he r isk of injury thro ugh inte ract ion with
the airbag t hat can occur, for examp le, by being
too close to the steering whee l and instrument
panel when the airbag inflates . In addition, the
system has been certified to comply with the
"suppression" req uirements of the Safety Stand ­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up to
~ 12 months who are restra ined on the front pas-...,
~ senger seat in child restraints that are listed i n
~ the Standard. 0 <( 0 00
Child s af ety
E ven thoug h your veh icle is equipped with an Ad ­
vanced Airbag system, all chi ldren, especially
those 12 years and younger, should a lways ride
in the back seat properly restrained for their age
and size . The airbag on the passenger side makes
the front seat a potentia lly dangerous p lace for a
ch ild to ride . Th e front seat is not the safest place
fo r a ch ild in a forward-fac ing ch ild safety seat.
It
can be a very dangerous place fo r an infant o r a
la rge r ch ild i n a rea rwa rd -facing seat.
T he veh icle 's Advanced A irbag System has a ca­
pacit ive passenger detection system in the front
passenge r seat cushion that can detect the p res ­
ence of a baby or a c hild in a child res tra int sys ­
tem on this seat .
T he capacitive passenger detection system reg is­
te rs the changes that result i n an elect rical field
whe n a child, a ch ild restraint, and a baby b la nket
are on t he fron t passenger seat. The change in
the measured capacitance due to the presence of a chi ld, a child restraint, and a baby blanket on
the front passenger seat is related to the child
restra int system resting on the seat. The meas­
ured capacitance of a child restra int system var­
ies depend ing on the type of system and specific
make and model.
The electrical capac itance of the various types,
makes, and models of child restraints specif ied
by the U .S . National Highway Traffic Safety Ad­
min istrat ion (NHTSA) in the relevant safety
standard are stored in the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem contro l unit together with the capacitances
typ ica l of infants and a 1 -year old child. When a
c h ild restraint is used on the front passenger
seat with a typical 1 year -old infant, t he Ad ­
vanced Airbag System compares the capacitance
measured by the capacitive passenger detection
system with the data stored in the electronic con­
trol un it .
Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regardless of the ch ild restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet Safe­
ty Standards and has been cert ified by its manu­
fact urer for use w ith an airbag . Always be s ure
t h at the c hild restraint is properly installed at
IJJ,,
293

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-Take the chi ld restraint off the front passen­
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
P AS SEN GER AIR
BA G
OFF ~; light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer immediately.
(D Tips
The chi ld seats listed in categories A to C have
been statically tested by Audi only for the Ad­
vanced Airbag function.
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially re­
duces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the driver, you are responsible for the safety
of everybody in the veh icle, especially chi ldren:
~ Always use the right chi ld safety seat for each
child and a lways use it properly
~ page 297.
~ Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instructions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the child safe­
ty seat .
~ When using the vehicle safety be lt to install a
ch ild safety seat, you must first activate the
convertible locking retractor on the safety be lt
to prevent the child safety seat from moving
~page 302 .
~ Push the child safety seat down with your fu ll
weight to get the safety be lt really tight so that
the seat cannot move forward or sideways
more than one inch (2.5 cm).
~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
~ page 297.
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equ ipped w ith an Advanced A irbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and younger,
should always ride i n the back seat properly re­
stra ined fo r their age and size.
_& WARNING
Not using a ch ild safety seat, using the w rong
child safety seat or improper ly installing a
Ch ild saf ety
chi ld restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death.
- All vehicle occupants and especially children
must be restra ined properly whenever r iding
in a vehicle. An unrestra ined or improperly
restrained child cou ld be injured by striking
the inter ior or by be ing ejected from the ve­
hicle dur ing a sudden maneuve r or i mpact.
An unrest rained or imprope rly restrained
child is a lso at greater r is k of injury or death
through contact w ith an inflating airbag.
- Commerc ially availab le child safety seats
are requi red to comply with U.S. Federal
Motor Vehicle S afety S tandard (FMVSS) 213
(in Canada CMVSS 213).
- When buying a child restra int, select one
that fits your ch ild and the vehicle .
- Only use child restraint systems that fully
contact the flat portion of the seat cush­
ion. The ch ild restraint must not t ip or
lean to either side. Audi does not recom­
mend using child safety seats that rest on
legs or tube-like frames. They do not pro­
vide adequ ate cont act with the se at.
- Always heed all lega l requirements per­
t ai ning to the insta llation and use of child
safety seats and carefu lly follow the in­
structions provided by the manufact urer
of the seat you are using .
- Never a llow children under S7 inches
(1.45 meters) to wear a normal safety be lt.
They must a lways be restrained by a proper
child restraint system. Otherwise, they
could sustain injuries to the abdomen and
neck areas during sudden braking maneu­
vers or accidents .
- Never let more than one child occupy a chi ld
safety seat.
- Never let babies or o lder children ride in a
veh icle while sitting on the lap of another
passenger.
- Holding a child in your arms is never a sub­
stitute fo r a chi ld restraint system .
- The st rongest person cou ld no t ho ld the
ch ild with the forces tha t exist in an acci­
dent. The child will strike the interior of
the vehicle and can also be struck by the passenger.
295

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comes on and stays on whenever a child re­
straint is installed on the front passenger seat
and the ignition is switched on.
- 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 OF F
~; light does not stay on .
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer immediately .
Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
Fig . 241 Schematic overview: keep unused safety belts
away from children in child safety seats. @· oute r rear
safety belt, ® · center rear safety belt
If a chi ld safety seat is used on the rear bench,
especia lly with LATCH universal lower anchorag­
es, the unused safety be lts
mu st be secured so
that the child in the child restraint cannot reach
them <=>.&. .
-Guide the safety belt webbings @ and @ be­
hind the head restra int of the seat where the
child restraint is installed
<=> fig. 241. When do­
ing so, do not engage the convertible locking
retractor! You shou ld not hear a "clicking"
sound when w inding up the safety be lt .
- Let the belt retractor wind up the safety belt webbing .
A WARNING
A child in a child safety seat installed with the
LA TC H l ower anchorages or w ith the standard
safety belt or a child in a booster seat on the
rear seat could play with unused rear seat
safety belts and become entangled. This
co uld cause the chi ld serious personal i njury
and even death.
Ch ild s afe ty
-Always secure unused rear seat safety belts
out of reach of children in child seats such
as by properly routing them around the
head restraint of the seat where the child
restraint is installed .
- Never activate the convert ible lock ing re­
tractor when rout ing the safety belts around
the head restraints.
- Never let anyone sit at the center rear seat­
ing position if the center rear safety belt has
been routed around a rear head restraint.
Child safety seats
Infant seats
Babies and infants up to about one year old and
20 lbs. or
9 kg need special rearward-facing
child restraints that support the back, neck and
head in a crash .
Fig. 242 Sc hematic overview: rearward-facing in fant seat,
properly i nstalled on th e rear seat
.,. When using the vehicle safety belt to install a
child safety seat, you must first activate the
convertib le locking retractor on the safety belt
to prevent the child safety seat from moving
<=> page 302 or install the seat using the LATCH
attachme nts .
.,. Push the ch ild safety seat down with you r full
weight to get the safety belt really tight so that
the seat cannot move forward or sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm).
.,. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
<=>page 297 .
Infants up to about one yea r (20 lbs. or 9 kg) are
best protected in special infant ca rr ie rs and child
sa fety seats designed for the ir age group. Many
experts believe that infants and small ch ildren
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297

Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs. and
80 lbs . (18 kg and 36 kg) who are less than 4
ft.
9 in. (57 inches/1.45 meters) tall.
Fig . 245 Rea r seat: chi ld p roper ly restrained in a booster
sea t
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 children up so
that the safety belt will pass properly over the
stronger parts of their bodies and the safety belt
can help protect them in a crash.
.,. Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to restrain
a chi ld on a booster seat .
.. The shoulder belt must lie as close to the cen­
ter of the child's collar bone as possib le and
must lie fla t 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 tight­
en if necessary .
.,. If you must transport an older child in a boos­
ter seat on the front passenger seat, you can
use the safety belt height adjustment to help
adjust the shoulder portion properly .
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 297.
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40 lbs. or
18 kg) are best protected in chi ld safety seats de-
~ signed for their age and we ight. Experts say that .....
~ the skeletal structure, particularly the pelvis , of N
~ these children is not fully developed, and they
0 co
Child safety
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 applicab le 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 chi ld's body in the right places. The routing of
the be lt over the chi ld's body is very important
for the ch ild'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 ch ild, regard less of how big the
ch ild is. Always remember that child ren 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 shoulde r 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 pe lvis . 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 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 pan t moves forward into the airbag .
A vehicle occ upant who is out of position and too
close to the a irbag gets in the way of an inf lating
airbag. When an occupant is too close , he or she
will be struck violent ly and w ill rece ive serious or
poss ibly even fata l injury .
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especially
any ch ildren, who must be in the front seat be­
cause of exceptiona l circumstances, be properly
restrained and as far away from the airbag as
poss ible. By keeping room between the child's
..,_
301

Child sa fety
body and the front of the passenger compart­
ment, the air bag can inflate comp lete ly and pro­
vide supp lemental protect ion in certain fronta l
coll is ions.
A WARNING
Not using a booster seat, us ing the booster
seat improperly, incorrectly installing a boos­
ter seat or using the vehicle safety belt im­
properly increases the risk of ser ious personal
injury and death in a collision or other eme r­
gency sit uat ion. To help red uce the risk of se­
rious persona l injury and/or death:
- The shoulder be lt mus t lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possib le
and must lie flat and snug on the upper
body. It must never lie across the throat or
neck . The lap be lt 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 proper ly route safety belts over a
child's body will cause severe injuries in an
acc ident or other emergency situation
¢ page 261.
- The rear side of the child safety seat should
be pos itioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat. Adjust or re­
move the rear seat head restraint if it is d if­
ficult to install the child seat with the he ad
restra int in place¢
page 58. Ins tall the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed . Driving without head
restra ints or w ith head rest raints that are
not properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Never let a child put the sho ulder belt under
the arm or beh ind the back, because it cou ld
cause severe injur ies 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 .
- Never let a child stand or knee l on any seat,
for example the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the ca rgo area o f
you r vehicle.
- Always remember that a child leaning for­
ward, s itting sideways or out of position in
302
-
any way du ring an accident can be struck by
a deploying airbag. Th is w ill result in serious
personal injury or death.
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptiona l
circumstances the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
'1; light must come on and stay on,
wheneve r the ign it ion is swi tched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF '1; light
does not come on and stay on, perform the
checks desc ribed ¢
page 281, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child res tra int off the front passen­
ge r seat and install it prope rly at one of the
rear sea t positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
'1; light does not st ay on whenever
the ignition is switched on .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
eve r us ing a child restrained in a vehicle is
be ing used ¢
page 261, Safety belts,
¢ page 269, Airbag system and
¢ page 291 , Important information .
Securing child safety
seats
Securing a child safety seat using a safety belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front pas ­
senger can be locked with the convertible locking
retractor to properly secure child safety seats .
The safety belts for the rea r seats and for the
front passenge r's seat have a conve rtible locking
r etractor for child safety seats. The safety belt
must be locked so that be lt webb ing cannot un ­
r eel. The retractor can be act ivated to lock the
safety belt and prevent the safety belt webbing
from loosening up dur ing norma l dr iving . A ch ild
safety seat can o nly be prope rly installed when
t h e safety be lt is locked so that the c hild and
c hi ld s afety seat will stay in place.
Always remember : Even though your veh icle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
c hi ld re n, especially those 12 yea rs and you nger,
sho uld always ride in t he b ack seat p roperly re-
strained for their age and s ize.
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