child restraint Ram Cargo Van 2015 User Guide

Child Restraints
Everyone in your vehicle needs to be buckled up at all
times, including babies and children.
Every state in the United States, and every Canadian
province, requires that small children ride in proper
restraint systems. This is the law, and you can be pros-
ecuted for ignoring it.
Children 12 years or younger should ride properly
buckled up in a rear seat, if available. According to crash
statistics, children are safer when properly restrained in
the rear seats rather than in the front.
WARNING!
In a collision, an unrestrained child can become a
projectile inside the vehicle. The force required to
hold even an infant on your lap could become so
great that you could not hold the child, no matter
how strong you are. The child and others could be
badly injured. Any child riding in your vehicle
should be in a proper restraint for the child’s size.
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There are different sizes and types of restraints for
children from newborn size to the child almost large
enough for an adult seat belt. Always check the child seat
Owner ’s Manual to make sure you have the correct seat
for your child. Carefully read and follow all the instruc-
tions and warnings in the child restraint Owner ’s Manual
and on all the labels attached to the child restraint.
Before buying any restraint system, make sure that it has
a label certifying that it meets all applicable Safety
Standards. You should also make sure that you can install
it in the vehicle where you will use it.NOTE:
•
For additional information, refer to www.seatcheck.org or
call 1–866–SEATCHECK (732–8243). Canadian residents
should refer to Transport Canada’s website for additional
information:
• www.tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/safedrivers-
childsafety-index-53.htm
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Summary Of Recommendations For Restraining Children In Vehicles
Child Size, Height, Weight Or Age Recommended Type Of Child Restraint
Infants and Toddlers Children who are two years old or
younger and who have not reached the height or weight limits of their child restraint Either an Infant Carrier or a Convertible
Child Restraint, facing rearward in the rear seat of the vehicle
Small Children Children who are at least two years old or who have out-grown the height or weightlimit of their rear-facing child restraint Forward-Facing Child Restraint with a
five-point Harness, facing forward in the rear seat of the vehicle
Larger Children Children who have out-grown their forward-facing child restraint, but are too
small to properly fit the vehicle’s seat belt Belt Positioning Booster Seat and the
vehicle seat belt, seated in the rear seat of the vehicle
Children Too Large
for Child Restraints Children 12 years old or younger, who
have out-grown the height or weight limit of their booster seat Vehicle Seat Belt, seated in the rear seat
of the vehicle
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Infants And Child Restraints
Safety experts recommend that children ride rear-facing
in the vehicle until they are two years old or until they
reach either the height or weight limit of their rear-facing
child restraint. Two types of child restraints can be used
rear-facing: infant carriers and convertible child seats.
The infant carrier is only used rear-facing in the vehicle.
It is recommended for children from birth until they
reach the weight or height limit of the infant carrier.
Convertible child seats can be used either rear-facing or
forward-facing in the vehicle. Convertible child seats
often have a higher weight limit in the rear-facing
direction than infant carriers do, so they can be used
rear-facing by children who have outgrown their infant
carrier but are still less than at least two years old.
Children should remain rear-facing until they reach the
highest weight or height allowed by their convertible
child seat.
WARNING!
•Never place a rear-facing child restraint in front of
an air bag. A deploying passenger Advanced Front
Air Bag can cause death or serious injury to a child
12 years or younger, including a child in a rear-
facing child restraint.
• Only use a rear-facing child restraint in a vehicle
with a rear seat.
Older Children And Child Restraints
Children who are two years old or who have outgrown
their rear-facing convertible child seat can ride forward-
facing in the vehicle. Forward-facing child seats and
convertible child seats used in the forward-facing direc-
tion are for children who are over two years old or who
have outgrown the rear-facing weight or height limit of
their rear-facing convertible child seat. Children should
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remain in a forward-facing child seat with a harness for
as long as possible, up to the highest weight or height
allowed by the child seat.
All children whose weight or height is above the
forward-facing limit for the child seat should use a
belt-positioning booster seat until the vehicle’s seat belts
fit properly. If the child cannot sit with knees bent over
the vehicle’s seat cushion while the child’s back is against
the seatback, they should use a belt-positioning booster
seat. The child and belt-positioning booster seat are held
in the vehicle by the seat belt.
WARNING!
•Improper installation can lead to failure of an
infant or child restraint. It could come loose in a
collision. The child could be badly injured or
(Continued)
WARNING! (Continued)
killed. Follow the child restraint manufacturer ’s
directions exactly when installing an infant or
child restraint.
• After a child restraint is installed in the vehicle, do
not move the vehicle seat forward or rearward
because it can loosen the child restraint attach-
ments. Remove the child restraint before adjusting
the vehicle seat position. When the vehicle seat has
been adjusted, reinstall the child restraint.
• When your child restraint is not in use, secure it in
the vehicle with the seat belt or LATCH anchor-
ages, or remove it from the vehicle. Do not leave it
loose in the vehicle. In a sudden stop or accident, it
could strike the occupants or seatbacks and cause
serious personal injury.
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Installing Child Restraints In Commercial Vehicles
This commercial vehicle is not designed for use as a
family vehicle and is not intended for carrying children
in the front passenger seat(s). Never install rearward-
facing child restraints in this vehicle. If you must carry a
child in a forward-facing child restraint, the passenger
seat should be moved to the full rearward position and
the child must be in a proper restraint system based on its
age, size and weight. Follow the instructions below to
secure the child restraint using the seat belt and tether
anchorage.
WARNING!
Rearward-facing infant restraints must never be se-
cured in the passenger seat of a vehicle with a
passenger Air Bag. In a collision, a passenger Air Bag
may deploy causing severe injury or death to infants
riding in rearward-facing infant restraints.
Installing Child Restraints Using The Vehicle Seat
Belt
The seat belts in the passenger seating positions are
equipped with a Switchable Automatic Locking Retractor
(ALR). This seat belt is designed to keep the lap portion
of the seat belt tight around the child restraint so that it is
not necessary to use a locking clip. The ALR retractor can
be “switched” into a locked mode by pulling all of the
webbing out of the retractor and then letting the webbing
retract back into the retractor. If it is locked, the ALR will
make a clicking noise while the webbing is pulled back
into the retractor. For additional information on ALR,
refer to the “Automatic Locking Mode” description un-
der “Occupant Restraints.”
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Lap/Shoulder Belt Systems For Installing Child
Restraints In This VehicleInstalling A Child Restraint With A Switchable
Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR)
1. Place the child seat in the center of the seating
position.
2. Pull enough of the seat belt webbing from the retractor to pass it through the belt path of the child restraint.
Do not twist the belt webbing in the belt path.
3. Slide the latch plate into the buckle until you hear a “click.”
4. Pull on the webbing to make the lap portion tight against the child seat.
5. To lock the seat belt, pull down on the shoulder part of the belt until you have pulled all the seat belt webbing
out of the retractor. Then, allow the webbing to retract
back into the retractor. As the webbing retracts, you
will hear a clicking sound. This means the seat belt is
now in the Automatic Locking mode.
Front Passenger Seat
• ALR= Switchable Automatic Locking Retractor
•
Top Tether Anchorage Symbol 2
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6. Try to pull the webbing out of the retractor. If it islocked, you should not be able to pull out any web-
bing. If the retractor is not locked, repeat step 5.
7. Finally, pull up on any excess webbing to tighten the lap portion around the child restraint while you push
the child restraint rearward and downward into the
vehicle seat.
8. If the child restraint has a top tether strap and the seating position has a top tether anchorage, connect
the tether strap to the anchorage and tighten the tether
strap. See “Installing Child Restraints Using the Top
Tether Anchorage” for directions to attach a tether
anchor. 9. Test that the child restraint is installed tightly by
pulling back and forth on the child seat at the belt
path. It should not move more than 1 inch (25.4 mm)
in any direction.
Any seat belt system will loosen with time, so check the
belt occasionally, and pull it tight if necessary.
Installing Child Restraints Using The Top Tether
Anchorage
WARNING!
Do not attach a tether strap for a rear-facing car seat
to any location in front of the car seat, including the
seat frame or a tether anchorage. Only attach the
tether strap of a rear-facing car seat to the tether
anchorage that is approved for that seating position,
located behind the top of the vehicle seat. See the
(Continued)
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WARNING!(Continued)
section “Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren
(LATCH) Restraint System” for the location of ap-
proved tether anchorages in your vehicle.
This vehicle is equipped with a tether strap anchorage
located behind the front passenger seatback, near the
floor. When installing a forward-facing child restraint,
always secure the top tether strap to the tether anchorage.
1. Look behind the front passenger seat to find the tether
anchorage. You may need to move the seat forward to
provide better access to the tether anchorage.
2. Route the tether strap to provide the most direct path for the strap between the anchor and the child seat. If
your vehicle is equipped with adjustable rear head
restraints, raise the head restraint, and where possible,
route the tether strap under the head restraint and
between the two posts. If not possible, lower the head
restraint and pass the tether strap around the outboard
side of the head restraint.
3. Attach the tether strap hook of the child restraint to the top tether anchorage as shown in the diagram.
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4. Remove slack in the tether strap according to the childrestraint manufacturer ’s instructions.
WARNING!
An incorrectly anchored tether strap could lead to
increased head motion and possible injury to the
child. Use only the anchorage position directly be-
hind the child seat to secure a child restraint top
tether strap.
Transporting Pets
Air Bags deploying in the front seat could harm your pet.
An unrestrained pet could be thrown about and possibly
injured, or injure a passenger during panic braking or in
a collision.
Pets should be restrained in the rear seat in pet harnesses
or pet carriers that are secured by seat belts.
Front Passenger Seat Tether Strap Mounting
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