Seatbelts – Subaru 2005 Forester 2.5X User Manual
Page 47
1-14
Seat, seatbelt and SRS airbags
Seatbelts
Seatbelt safety tips
y
All persons in the vehicle should fasten their
seatbelts BEFORE the vehicle starts to move.
Otherwise, the possibility of serious injury be-
comes greater in the event of a sudden stop or
accident.
y
All belts should fit snugly in order to provide
full restraint. Loose fitting belts are not as ef-
fective in preventing or reducing injury.
y
Each seatbelt is designed to support only
one person. Never use a single belt for two or
more persons – even children. Otherwise, in an
accident, serious injury or death could result.
y
Replace all seatbelt assemblies including re-
tractors and attaching hardware worn by occu-
pants of a vehicle that has been in a serious ac-
cident. The entire assembly should be replaced
even if damage is not obvious.
y
Put children aged 12 and under in the rear
seat properly restrained at all times. The SRS
airbag deploys with considerable speed and
force and can injure or even kill children, espe-
cially if they are 12 years of age and under and
are not restrained or improperly restrained. Be-
cause children are lighter and weaker than
adults, their risk of being injured from deploy-
ment is greater. For that reason, we strongly
recommend that ALL children (including those
in child seats and those that have outgrown
child restraint devices) sit in the REAR seat
properly restrained at all times in a child re-
straint device or in a seatbelt, whichever is ap-
propriate for the child’s height and weight.
Secure ALL types of child restraint devices (in-
cluding forward facing child seats) in the REAR
seats at all times.
NEVER INSTALL A REARWARD FACING CHILD
SEAT IN THE FRONT SEAT. DOING SO RISKS
SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH TO THE CHILD
BY PLACING THE CHILD’S HEAD TOO CLOSE
TO THE SRS AIRBAG.
According to accident statistics, children are
safer when properly restrained in the rear seat-
ing positions than in the front seating posi-
tions. For instructions and precautions con-
cerning the child restraint system, see the
“Child restraint systems” section in this chap-
ter.