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186
Child Safety
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. 189 Rear seat: child properly restrained i n a boos-
ter seat
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit
most children until they are at least 4
ft.
9 in.
(57 inch es/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about
80 lbs . (36 kg). Booster seats raise these chil-
dren up so that the safety belt will pass prop -
erly over the stronger pa rts of their bodies
and the safety belt can help protect them in a
crash.
.. Do not use the convertible locki ng retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to re-
strain a chi ld on a booster seat .
.. Always position the sho uld er portion of the
safety belt midway over the child's shoulder.
If you must transport an older child in a
booster seat on the front passenger seat,
you can use the safety belt he ight adjust-
ment to help adjust the shoulder portion
properly.
.. Always make sure that the shoulder portion
of the safety belt never rests against or
across the child's neck .
.. Always make sure that the child can properly
wear the lap portion of the be lt low across
the thighs or pe lvis and
never
over the
stomach or abdomen.
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40
lbs. or 18 kg) are best protected in ch ild safe-
ty seats designed for their age and weight. Ex-
perts say that the skeletal structure, particu-
larly the pelvis, of these ch ildren is not fully
developed, and they must not use the vehicle
safety belts without a suitable chi ld restraint.
It is usually best to put these chi ldren in ap-
propr iate booste r seats. Be sure the booster
seat meets all applicable safety standa rds.
Booster seats raise the seating posit ion of the
child and repos ition both the lap and shoulder
parts of the safety belt so that they pass
across the child's body in the right places. The
routing of the belt over the child's body is very
important for the child's protect ion, whether
or not a booster 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 in-
ches/1.45 meters) tall can genera lly 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 child is. Always remember
that children do not have the pronounced pel-
vic structure required for the prope r funct ion
of lap belt portion of the vehicle 's three point
lap and shou lder belts. The chi ld's safety ab-
so lutely requires that a lap belt portion of the
safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as
possible around the pelvis. 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 considerable force. In order
to do its job, the a irbag needs room to inflate
so that it will be there to protect the occupant
as the occupant moves forward into the a ir-
bag .
A vehicle occ upant who is out of posit ion and
too close to the airbag gets in the way of an
inflating airbag . When an occupant is too
close, he or she w ill be struck violently and
will receive se rious or possibly even fatal in-
Jury.
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especial-
ly any children, who must be in the front s eat
because of exceptiona l circumstances, be
properly restrai ned and as far away from the
airbag as possible. By keeping room between
..,_
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