Protecting Children
Children Should Sit in the Back
Seat
According to accident statistics,
children of all ages and sizes are
safer when they are restrained in a
back seat, not the front seat. The
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration recommends that all
children ages 12 and under ride in a
back seat, properly restrained.
In a back seat, children are less
likely to be injured by striking hard
interior vehicle parts during a
collision or hard braking. Also,
children cannot be injured by an
inflating airbag when they ride in the
back.
The Passenger's Airbag Poses
Serious Risks to Children
Airbags have been designed to help
protect adults in a severe frontal
collision. To do this, the passenger's
airbag is quite large, and it inflates
with tremendous speed.
Infants
Never put a rear-facing child seat in
the front seat of a vehicle equipped
with a passenger's airbag.
If the
airbag inflates, it can hit the back of
the child seat with enough force to
kill or very seriously injure an infant.
Small Children
Placing a forward-facing child seat in
the front seat of a vehicle equipped
with a passenger's airbag can be
hazardous.
If the vehicle seat is too
far forward, or the child's head is
thrown forward during a collision, an
inflating airbag can strike the child
with enough force to kill or very
seriously injure a small child.
Larger Children
Children who have outgrown child
seats are also at risk of being injured
or killed by an inflating passenger
airbag.
Whenever possible, larger
children should sit in a back seat,
properly restrained with a seat belt.
(See page
35
for important
information about protecting larger
children.)
Driver and Passenger Safety
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