Carrying Children Safely - Fiat 500 Owner's Handbook Manual

SEAT BELTS MAINTENANCE
Observe the following:
❒ always use the belt with the tap taut and
never twisted; make sure that it is free
to run without impediments;
❒ replace the belt after an accident of a
certain severity even if it does not ap-
pear damaged. Always replace the belt
if the pretensioners were deployed.
❒ to clean the belt, wash by hand with wa-
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
may only be ensured if the reels are dry;
❒ replace the seat belt when showing sig-
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 his/her body and the child's
muscular and bone structures are not ful-
ly developed.
For this reason, they require restraint sys-
tems 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 children is illustrated in Eu-
ropean Regulation ECE-R44 which divides
the restraint systems into five groups in
addition to making 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
WARNING
SEVERE DANGER: Do not
arrange child seats facing
backwards on the front seat
if the passenger's airbag is
on. Deployment of the
airbag in an accident could
cause fatal injuries to the baby. It is
advisable to carry children on the rear
seat, which is the most protected po-
sition in the event of an accident.
Child seats must not be fitted on the
front seat of cars provided with pas-
senger air bag, whose deployment in
an accident could cause fatal injuries
to the baby. If necessary, children can
stay on the front seat, if the passen-
ger's airbag can be disabled. Verify
that the airbag is actually deactivat-
ed, observing the warning light
the dashboard (see "Front airbag -
passenger side" at paragraph "Front
airbags"). Move the passenger's seat
as far back as possible to avoid con-
tact between the cradle and the dash-
board.
F
on
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