Carrying Children Safely - Fiat LINEA Owner's Handbook Manual

HOW TO KEEP THE SEAT
BELTS ALWAYS IN EFFICIENT
CONDITIONS
Observe the following:
always use the belt with the tap taut and
q
never twisted; make sure that it is free
to run without impediments;
replace the belt after an accident of a
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certain severity even if it does not ap-
pear damaged. Always replace the belt
if the pretensioners where deployed.
to clean the belt, wash by hand with wa-
q
ter and mild soap, rinse and leave to dry
in the shade. Do not use strong deter-
gents, bleach, paints or any other sub-
stance which could damage the belt fi-
bres;
keep the reels dry: correct operation
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may only be ensured if the reels are dry;
replace the seat belt when showing sig-
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nificant wear or cut signs.

CARRYING CHILDREN SAFELY

For optimal protection in the event of a
crash, all passengers must be seated and
wearing adequate restraint systems.
This is even more important for children.
This prescription is compulsory in all EC
countries according to EC Directive
2003/20/EC.
A child's head is larger and heavier in pro-
portion to its body and the child's muscu-
lar and bone structures are not fully de-
veloped. For this reason, they require re-
straint systems which are different from
those used by adults to protect them in the
event of an accident. The research results
in relation to the best protection for chil-
dren is illustrated in European Regulation
EEC-R44 which divides the restraint sys-
tems into five groups in addition to mak-
ing their use compulsory:
Group 0 0-10 kg in weight
Group 0+ 0-13 kg in weight
Group 1 9-18 kg in weight
Group 2 15-25 kg in weight
Group 3 22-36 kg in weight
As it may be noted, the groups overlap
partly and in fact, in commerce it is pos-
sible to find devices that cover more than
one weight group.
All restraint devices must bear the certi-
fication data, together with the control
brand, on a solidly fixed label which must
absolutely never be removed.
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