NISSAN 2012 Maxima - Manual (Page 35)

WARNING
Infants and children need special protec-
tion. The vehicle’s seat belts may not fit
them properly. The shoulder belt may
come too close to the face or neck. The
lap belt may not fit over their small hip
bones. In an accident, an improperly fit-
ting seat belt could cause serious or fatal
injury.
Always use appropriate child
restraints.
All U.S. states and Canadian provinces or terri-
tories require the use of approved child restraints
for infants and small children. See “Child re-
straints” later in this section.
A child restraint may be secured in the vehicle by
using either the LATCH (Lower Anchor and Teth-
ers for CHildren) system or with the vehicle seat
belt. See the “Child restraints” section for more
information.
NISSAN recommends that all pre-teens
and children be restrained in the rear seat.
Studies show that children are safer when
properly restrained in the rear seat than in
the front seat.
This is especially important because your
vehicle has a supplemental restraint sys-
tem (air bag system) for the front passen-
ger. See “Supplemental restraint system”
later in this section.
INFANTS
Infants up to at least 1 year old should be placed
in a rear-facing child restraint. NISSAN recom-
mends that infants be placed in child restraints
that comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards or Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards. You should choose a child restraint
that fits your vehicle and always follow the manu-
facturer’s instructions for installation and use.
SMALL CHILDREN
Children that are over 1 year old and weigh at
least 20 lbs (9 kg) should remain in a rear-facing
child restraint as long as possible up to the height
or weight limit of the child restraint. Forward-
facing child restraints are available for children
who outgrow rear-facing child restraints and are
at least 1 year old. Refer to the manufacturer’s
instructions for minimum and maximum weight
and height recommendations. NISSAN recom-
mends that small children be placed in child
restraints that comply with Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards or Canadian Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards. You should choose a child
restraint that fits your vehicle and always follow
the manufacturer’s instructions for installation
and use.
LARGER CHILDREN
Children who are too large for child restraints
should be seated and restrained by the seat belts
which are provided. The seat belt may not fit
properly if the child is less than 4 ft 9 in (142.5
cm) tall and weighs between 40 lbs (18 kg) and
80 lbs (36 kg). A booster seat should be used to
obtain proper seat belt fit.
NISSAN recommends that a child be placed in a
commercially available booster seat if the shoul-
der belt fits close to the face or neck or if the lap
portion of the seat belt goes across the abdo-
men. The booster seat should raise the child so
that the shoulder belt is properly positioned
across the top, middle portion of the shoulder
and the lap belt is low on the hips. A booster seat
can only be used in seating positions that have a
three-point type seat belt. The booster seat
should fit the vehicle seat and have a label certi-
fying that it complies with Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards or Canadian Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards. Once the child has grown so
the shoulder belt is no longer on or near the face
and neck, use the shoulder belt without the
booster seat.
1-18 Safety—Seats, seat belts and supplemental restraint system