Essential Safety Equipment; Only on Tether-Equipped Rear Seats:- Page 40

2–28

Essential Safety Equipment

Child-Restraint

 Installing  Child-Restraint 
Systems

            Accident  statistics  reveal  that  a  child  is 
safer in the rear seat. 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.

   NOTE

  Even if your vehicle is equipped with front 
passenger seat weight sensors (page  2-
56), which automatically deactivates the 
front passenger air bag, a rear seat is the 
safest place for a child of any age or size.

  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 seat.

  Some child-restraint systems also employ 
specially designed LATCH attachments; 
refer to "Using LATCH Lower Anchor" 
(page   2-36 ).

WARNING

  Tethered Child-Restraint Systems Work 
Only on Tether-Equipped Rear Seats:

  Installation of a tether equipped 
child-restraint system in the front 
passenger's seat 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 benefi t of being tethered.
  Place tether equipped child-restraint 
systems where there are tether 
anchors.