FORD 2015 E-450 - Manual (Page 45)

protection of safety belts and permits the airbags to provide the
additional protection they were designed to provide. If you choose to
deactivate your airbag, you are losing the very significant risk reducing
benefits of the airbag and you are also reducing the effectiveness of the
safety belts, because safety belts in modern vehicles are designed to
work as a safety system with the airbags.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Deactivation
Criteria (excluding Canada)
WARNING: This vehicle has special energy management safety
belts for the driver and right front passenger. These particular
belts are specifically designed to work with airbags to help reduce the
risk of injury in a crash. The energy management safety belt is designed
to give or release additional belt webbing in some accidents to reduce
concentration of force on an occupant’s chest and reduce the risk of
certain bone fractures and injuries to underlying organs. In a crash, if
the airbag is turned off, this energy management safety belt might
permit the person wearing the belt to move forward enough to incur a
serious or fatal injury. The more severe the crash, and the heavier the
occupant, the greater the risk is. Be sure the airbag is turned on for
any person who does not qualify under the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration deactivation criteria.
1. Infant. An infant (less than 1 year old) must ride in the front seat
because:
• the vehicle has no rear seat;
• the vehicle has a rear seat too small to accommodate a rear-facing
infant seat; or
• the infant has a medical condition which, according to the infant’s
physician, makes it necessary for the infant to ride in the front so that
the driver can constantly monitor the child’s condition.
2. Child age 1 to 12. A child age 1 to 12 must ride in the front seat
because:
• the vehicle has no rear seat;
• although children ages 1 to 12 ride in the rear seat(s) whenever
possible, children ages 1 to 12 sometimes must ride in the front
because no space is available in the rear seat(s) of the vehicle; or
44 Supplementary Restraints System
2015 Econoline (eco)
Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, June 2014
USA (fus)