Seat Belt Precautions

Always wear your seat belt and make sure all passengers are wearing their seat belts before starting any trip. Airbags are designed to supplement the seat belt as an additional safety device, not to replace it. Most states require that all vehicle occupants wear seat belts.

WARNING

ALL occupants must wear seat belts while the vehicle is in motion. Observe the following precautions when adjusting and fastening seat belts:

• ALWAYS properly secure children under 13 years old in the rear seats.
• NEVER allow children to ride in the front passenger seat. If children aged 13 years and older must sit in the front seat, move the seat as far back as possible and properly secure them in the seat.
• NEVER allow an infant or child to be held on a passenger's lap.
• NEVER ride with the seatback reclined while the vehicle is in motion.
• Do not allow children to share a seat or seat belt.
• Do not wear the shoulder belt under your arm or behind your back.
• Always wear both the lap and shoulder portions of the seat belt.
• Do not use a seat belt that is twisted. A twisted seat belt will not properly protect you in the event of a crash.
• Do not use a seat belt if the webbing or hardware is damaged.
• Do not fasten the seat belt buckle into the buckles of other seats.
• NEVER unbuckle the seat belt while the vehicle is in motion. This may cause loss of vehicle control, resulting in a crash.
• Make sure nothing interferes with the latch mechanism of the buckle. This may prevent the seat belt from latching securely.
• Do not make any modifications or additions that either prevent the seat belt adjusting devices from removing slack or prevent the seat belt retractor from removing slack.

WARNING

Damaged seat belts and seat belt assemblies will not function properly. Always replace:

• Worn, contaminated, or damaged webbing
• Damaged hardware
• The entire seat belt assembly after it has been worn in a crash, even if damage to the belt or assembly is not obvious