The following descriptions provide basic information on each feature and how it works. This information will help you understand sales literature and prepare you to ask questions of the dealer. Be aware that some manufacturers may use other design features that perform the same function as those described.
Seat Belts
In the event of a crash, seat belts are designed to keep you inside the vehicle. They also reduce the risk that you will collide with the steering wheel, dashboard, or windshield. New seat belt designs have additional features that improve seat belt performance.
Adjustable upper belts. An adjustable upper belt lets you change the position of the shoulder strap to accommodate a person's size. This feature may encourage passengers to wear their belts, since it increases shoulder belt comfort.
For occupants needing additional belt webbing length, many manufacturers have belt extenders available. Try on the standard equipment belts when you test drive a vehicle and ask the dealer about the availability of extenders if you would need one.
Seat belt pretensioner. Pretensioners retract the seat belt to remove excess slack, almost instantly, in a crash. However, you still need to adjust your seat belt as snugly as possible, since pretensioners are not powerful enough to pull you back into your seat. Like air bags, pretensioners are "one use" devices and need to be replaced after a crash.
Energy management features. Energy management features allow seat belts to "give" or yield during a severe crash to prevent forces on the shoulder belt from concentrating too much energy on your chest. These features include "load limiters" built into the shoulder belt retractor and/or "tear stitching" in the webbing that causes the seat belt to extend gradually.
Integrated seat-belt systems. These systems mount the entire seat belt system directly to the seat, rather than to the floor or pillar. This allows the seat belt to move with you when you move the seat. Integrated systems provide a more consistent and comfortable fit and are intended to more effectively hold you in your seat during a crash.
Rear center seat lap/shoulder belts. Although manufacturers are only required to have lap belts in the rear center position, some provide a lap/shoulder belt. This added feature is especially beneficial to older children and children in booster seats who are often seated in the rear center position.
Air Bags
Depending on the speed at impact and the stiffness of the object struck, front air bags inflate to prevent occupants from hitting the dashboard, steering wheel, and windshield. Side air bags reduce the risk that occupants will hit the door or objects that crash through it. Front air bags for both drivers and passengers are standard equipment in all year 2001 model vehicles.
Warning!!! Children can be killed or seriously injured by an air bag. Always put children age 12 and under in the rear seat.
Never use a rear-facing child seat in the front seat of a vehicle equipped with a front passenger air bag unless the air bag is off, even if the vehicle has reduced-power air bags.
The force of a deploying air bag on a child in a rear-facing infant seat may cause fatal injuries. Some vehicles without rear seats or with small rear seats are equipped by the vehicle manufacturer with an air bag on/off switch allowing the use of a rear-facing child seat. NHTSA's Buying a Safer Car for Child Passengers brochure provides a list of these vehicles as well as other important information you should consider when purchasing a vehicle if you transport children (see page 9 on obtaining a copy). Children must ride in a rear-facing child seat until they weigh at least 20 pounds, regardless of age. If your child weighs more than 20 pounds and is not yet one-year old, use a rear-facing convertible seat that is made for heavier infants.
Front air bags do not eliminate the need for seat belts and are not designed to offer protection in rollovers, rear, or side impacts. In fact, maximum air bag effectiveness depends upon seat belts, which help keep you in place should a collision occur.
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