FORD 2014 E-450 v.3 - Manual (Page 51)

The passenger side airbag should always be on (the airbag OFF light
should not be illuminated) unless the passenger is a person who meets
the requirements stated either in Category 1, 2 or 3 of the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration/Transport Canada deactivation
criteria which follows.
The vast majority of drivers and passengers are much safer with an airbag
than without. To do their job and reduce the risk of life threatening injuries,
airbags must open with great force, and this force can pose a potentially
deadly risk in some situations, particularly when a front seat occupant is not
properly buckled up. The most effective way to reduce the risk of
unnecessary airbag injuries without reducing the overall safety of the
vehicle is to make sure all occupants are properly restrained in the vehicle,
especially in the front seat. This provides the 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
50 Supplementary Restraints System
2014 Econoline (eco)
Owners Guide gf, 3rd Printing, September 2013
USA (fus)