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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 122, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts?
.
But
unlike
adults their
muscles and bones are not fully developed.
In
many respects ch ildren are at greater
risk
of seri-
ous injury in crashes
than
adults.
Because children's bodies are not fully devel-
oped,
they
require restraint systems especially
des igned for their size, we ight, and body struc-
ture. Many countr ies
and all
states of the
United
States 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 20-3S 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
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
c:>
page 154, 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 child
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
your
vehicle and how they work
when infants and children
in
chi ld restraints are
on the front
passenger
seat. Because of the large
amount of important information, we cannot
re-
peat it all here. We urge you to read the detailed
Child
safety
information
in
this owner 's manual
about
airbags
and the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
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 you
r
passengers,
espec ially infants and
small ch
ildr
en
.
,&.
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 could be injured by striking
the interior or by be ing ejected from the ve-
hicle dur ing a sudden maneuver or
impact.
An unrestrained
or improperly
restrained
child is also at greater risk of injury or death
through contact w ith an inf lating a irbag.
- A suitable child 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 acci-
dent
situations.
,&.
WARNING
Children on
the front
seat
of
any car
even with
Advanced Airbags can be seriously injured or
even
killed
when an airbag inflates
.
A child in
a rearward-facing
chi
ld
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 carr ier with great force and
will 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
151
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