To reduce the number of child deaths and injuries, every state, Canadian
province, and territory requires that infants and children be properly restrained
when they ride in a vehicle.
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Protecting Child Passengers – Important Considerations
• An inflating front or side airbag can injure or kill a child sitting in the front
seat.
• A child in the front seat is more likely to interfere with the driver's ability
to safely control the vehicle.
• Statistics show that children of all sizes and ages are safer when they are
properly restrained in a rear seat.
• Any child who is too small to wear a seat belt correctly must be
restrained in an approved child seat that is properly secured to the
vehicle using either the lap belt portion of the lap/shoulder belt or the
lower anchors of the LATCH system.
• Never hold a child on your lap because it is impossible to protect them in
the event of a collision.
• Never put a seat belt over yourself and a child. During a crash, the belt
would likely press deep into the child and cause serious or fatal injuries.
• Never let two children use the same seat belt. Both children could be
very seriously injured in a crash.
• Do not allow children to operate the doors, windows, or seat adjustments.
• Do not leave children, pets or people needing assistance in the vehicle
unattended, especially in hot weather when the inside of the vehicle can
get hot enough to kill them. They could also activate vehicle controls,
causing it to move unexpectedly.
Children who are unrestrained or improperly restrained can be seriously
injured or killed in a crash.
Any child too small for a seat belt should be properly restrained in a child
seat. A larger child should be properly restrained with a seat belt, using a
booster seat if necessary.
Allowing a child to play with a seat belt or wrap one around their neck can
result in serious injury or death.
Instruct children not to play with any seat belt and make sure any unused
seat belt a child can reach is buckled, fully retracted, and locked.
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Protecting Infants
An infant must be properly restrained in a rear-facing, reclining child seat
until the infant reaches the seat maker’s weight or height limit for the seat,
and the infant is at least one year old. Many experts recommend use of a
rear-facing seat for a child up to two years old if the child’s height and
weight are appropriate for a rear-facing seat.
Child seats must be placed and secured in a rear seating position. Rear-
facing child seats should never be installed in a forward-facing position.
When properly installed, a rear-facing child seat may prevent the driver or a
front passenger from moving their seat all the way back, or from locking
their seat-back in the desired position.
Make sure that there is no contact
between the child seat and the seat in
front of it. It can also interfere with
proper operation of the front
passenger’s advanced front airbag
system. If this occurs, we recommend
that you install the child seat directly
behind the front passenger’s seat, move
the seat as far forward as needed, and
leave it unoccupied. Or, you may wish
to get a smaller rear-facing child seat.
Placing a rear-facing child seat in the front seat can result in serious injury
or death during a crash. Always place a rear-facing child seat in the rear
seat, not the front.
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Protecting Smaller Children
If a child is at least one year old and within the weight range indicated by
the child seat manufacturer, the child should be properly restrained in a
firmly secured forward-facing child seat.
We strongly recommend placing a
forward-facing child seat in a rear
seating position. Placing a forward-
facing child seat in the front seat can
be hazardous, even with advanced
front airbags that automatically turn the
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