Owner's Manual

2-38
Essential Safety Equipment
Child Restraint
Form No. 8Q44-EA-01K
Accident statistics reveal that a child is
safer in the rear seats. The front
passenger’s seat is clearly the worst
choice for any child under 12, and with
rear-facing child-restraint systems it is
clearly unsafe due to air bags.
Some child-restraint systems now come
with tethers and therefore must be
installed on the seats that take tethers to
be effective. In your Mazda, tethered
child-restraint systems can only be
accommodated in the three positions on
the rear seats.
Some child-restraint systems also employ
specially designed LATCH attachments;
refer to "LATCH Child-Restraint
Systems" (page 2-44).
▼
Second-Row Seats Child-
Restraint System Installation
Follow these instructions when using a
child-restraint system, unless you are
attaching a LATCH-equipped child-
restraint system to the rear LATCH lower
anchors. Refer to "LATCH Child-
Restraint Systems" (page 2-44).
1. If the seat in which you install a child-
restraint system has a seat slide
function, slide the seat as far back as
possible.
2. Secure the child-restraint system with
the lap portion of the lap/shoulder belt.
See the instructions on the child-
restraint system for belt routing
instructions.
Installing Child-Restraint
Systems
Tethered Child-Restraint Systems
Work Only on Rear Seat:
Installation of a tether equipped
child-restraint system in the front
passenger’s seat or the third-row
outboard seats defeats the safety
design of the system and will result in
an increased chance of serious injury
if the child-restraint system goes
forward without benefit of being
tethered.
Place tether equipped child-restraint
systems where there are tether
anchors.
WARNING
NOTE
Follow the child-restraint system
manufacturer’s instructions carefully.
If you are not sure whether you have a
LATCH system or tether, check in the
child-restraint system manufacturer’s
instructions and follow them
accordingly. Depending on the type of
child-restraint system, it may not
employ seat belts which are in
automatic locking mode.
J16L_EA.book Page 38 Friday, February 22, 2002 11:34 AM