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Ch ild safety
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 ch ildren
¢
page 121, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults their
muscles and bones are not fu lly deve loped . In
many respects ch ildren are at greater risk of ser i-
ous injury in crashes than adults.
Because children's bodies are not fu lly devel-
oped, they requ ire restraint systems especially
des igned for their size, we ight, and body struc-
ture. Many countries and all states of the United
St ates and provinces of Canada have laws requir-
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 t he
child would suddenly be more than 260 pounds
(120 kg) . Under these conditions, only an appro -
priate child restraint properly used can reduce
the risk of serious injury . Child restraints must be
used properly to be effective . Used improperly,
they can increase the risk of serious injury in an
accident.
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's
in-
structions to be sure the seat is right for your
child's size ¢
page 153, Important safety in-
structions for using child safety seats.
Please be
sure to read and heed all of the important infor-
mation and WARNINGS about ch ild safety, Ad-
vanced Airbags, and the installation of chi ld re-
straints in this chapter.
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad-
vanced Airbags in you r vehicle and how they work
when infa nts and children in child restraints are
on the front passenger seat . Because of the larg e
amount of important information, we cannot re -
peat it all here. We urge you to read the detailed
150
information in this owner 's manual about airbags
and the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
and the very impo rtant 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 chi ldren .
&_
WARNING
- Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seating position. Always restrain
any child age 12 and under in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially children
m ust be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
restrained child cou ld be injured by striking
the interior or by being ejected from the ve-
hicle during a sudden maneuver or impac t.
An unrestrained
or improperly restrained
child is also at greater risk of injury or death
through contact w ith an inflating airbag .
- A suitable ch ild restraint properly installed
and used at one of the rear seating positions
provides the highest degree of protect ion
for infants and small children in most acc i-
dent sit uat ions.
&_
WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even with
Advanced Airbags can be ser iously injured or
even killed when an airbag inflates. A child in
a rearward-facing
child safety seat installed
on the front passenger seat will be seriously
injured and can be killed if the front airbag in-
flates.
- The inflating airbag will hit the ch ild safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
w ill smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, center armrest or
door.
-Always install rearward -facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat in
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