Essential Safety Equipment; NHTSA deactivation criteria- Page 48

Essential Safety Equipment

2-34

The vast majority of drivers and passen-
gers are much safer with an air bag than
without. To do their job and reduce the
risk of life threatening injuries, air bags
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 air bag
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 seat belts and
permits the air bags to provide the addi-
tional protection they were designed to
provide. If you choose to deactivate your
air bag, you are losing the very signifi-
cant risk reducing benefits of the air bag
and you are also reducing the effective-
ness of the seat belts, because seat belts

in modern vehicles are designed to work
as a safety system with the air bags.

Read all air bag warning labels in the
vehicle as well as the other important air
bag instructions and warnings in this
owner’s manual.

NHTSA deactivation criteria

1.

Infant

 – An infant (less than 1 year

old) must ride in the front seat
because:

S

the vehicle has no rear seat;

S

the vehicle has a rear seat too small to
accommodate a rear-facing infant
seat; or

S

the infant has a medical condition
which, according to the infant’s phy-
sician, makes it necessary for the
infant to ride in the front so that the
driver can constantly monitor the
child’s condition.