Ford AM/FM stereo Children and safety belts, Child booster seats, Seating and Safety Restraints

Seating and Safety Restraints

Do not attempt to service, repair, or modify the air bag supplemental restraint systems or its fuses. See your Ford or

Lincoln Mercury dealer.

Children and safety belts

If the child is the proper size, restrain the child in a safety seat. Children who are too large for child safety seats (as specified by your child safety seat manufacturer) should always wear safety belts.

Follow all the important safety restraint and air bag precautions that apply to adult passengers in your vehicle.

If the shoulder belt portion of a combination lap and shoulder belt can be positioned so it does not cross or rest in front of the child’s face or neck, the child should wear the lap and shoulder belt. Moving the child closer to the center of the vehicle may help provide a good shoulder belt fit.

Do not leave children, unreliable adults, or pets unattended in your vehicle.

Child booster seats

Children outgrow a typical convertible or toddler seat when they weigh 40 pounds and are around 4 years of age. Although the lap/shoulder belt will provide some protection, these children are still too small for lap/shoulder belts to fit properly, which could increase the risk of serious injury.

To improve the fit of both the lap and shoulder belt on children who have outgrown child safety seats, Ford Motor Company recommends use of a belt-positioning booster.

Booster seats position a child so that safety belts fit better. They lift the child up so that the lap belt rests low across the hips and the knees bend comfortably. Booster seats also make the shoulder belt fit better and more comfortably for growing children.

When children should use booster seats

Children need to use booster seats from the time they outgrow the toddler seat until they are big enough for the vehicle seat and lap/shoulder belt to fit properly. Generally this is when they weigh about 80 lbs (about 8 to 12 years old).

97