Protectin
g Childre n
Childre n Shoul d Si t i n th e Bac k
Sea t
According to accident statistics, children of all ages and sizes aresafer when they are restrained in the
back seat, not the front seat. The
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration and Transport Canada recommend that all children
ages 12 and under be properly
restrained in the back seat.
In the back seat, children are less
likely to be injured by striking hard interior parts during a collision or
hard braking. Also, children cannot
be injured by an inflating airbag
when they ride in the back. Th
e Passenger' s Fron t Airba g
Pose s Seriou s Risk s t o Childre n
Front airbags have been designed to
help protect adults in a moderate to severe frontal collision. To do this,
the passenger's front 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 front 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 front 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 front airbag can strike thechild 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's
front airbag. Whenever possible,
larger children should sit in the back seat, properly restrained with a seat
belt. (See page 35 for important information about protecting larger
children.)
CONTINUED
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y
