WARNING:
If your vehicle has rear seats, always transport
children who are 12 and younger in the rear seat. Always use
safety belts and child restraints properly. DO NOT place a child in a
rear facing infant seat in the front seat unless your vehicle is equipped
with an airbag ON/OFF switch and the passenger airbag is turned OFF.
This is because the back of the infant seat is too close to the inflating
airbag and the risk of a fatal injury to the infant when the airbag
inflates is substantial.
The vast majority of drivers and passengers are much safer with an
airbag than without. To do their job and reduce the risk of life
threatening injuries, airbags must open with great force, and this force
can pose a potentially deadly risk in some situations, particularly when a
front seat occupant is not properly buckled up. The most effective way
to reduce the risk of unnecessary airbag injuries without reducing the
overall safety of the vehicle is to make sure all occupants are properly
restrained in the vehicle, especially in the front seat. This provides the
protection of safety belts and permits the airbags to provide the
additional protection they were designed to provide. If you choose to
deactivate your airbag, you are losing the very significant risk reducing
benefits of the airbag and you are also reducing the effectiveness of the
safety belts, because safety belts in modern vehicles are designed to
work as a safety system with the airbags.
Read all airbag warning labels in the vehicle as well as the other
important airbag instructions and warnings in this Owner’s Guide.
NHTSA deactivation criteria (excluding Canada)
1.
Infant.
An infant (less than 1 year old) must ride in the front seat
because:
•
the vehicle has no rear seat;
•
the vehicle has a rear seat too small to accommodate a rear-facing
infant seat; or
•
the infant has a medical condition which, according to the infant’s
physician, makes it necessary for the infant to ride in the front so that
the driver can constantly monitor the child’s condition.
2.
Child age 1 to 12.
A child age 1 to 12 must ride in the front seat
because:
•
the vehicle has no rear seat;
•
although children ages 1 to 12 ride in the rear seat(s) whenever
possible, children ages 1 to 12 sometimes must ride in the front
because no space is available in the rear seat(s) of the vehicle; or
Seating and Safety Restraints
192
2010 F-250/350/450/550
(f23)
Owners Guide, 2nd Printing
USA
(fus)