Transporting children safely, Children on the passenger's seat – BMW Z4 Roadster 2.5i 2004 User Manual
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Transporting children safely
Children on the passenger's
seat
Deactivating/reactivating passenger
airbags
The passenger airbags must be deac-
tivated before using a rear-facing
child-restraint system on the passenger
seat, refer also to page
for explanation.
BMW also recommends that the passenger
airbags be deactivated if a child is trans-
ported in a front-facing child-restraint sys-
tem, regardless of the age of the child. If
you transport a child in the passenger seat,
not an infant in a rear-facing seat, who is
properly seated and seat-belted at all
times, the potential benefits of airbags
deploying in an accident generally out-
weigh the risks of the child being injured by
the force of a deploying airbag.
Therefore, you should deactivate the pas-
senger airbags only if you find it difficult to
ensure that the child will remain properly
seated and seat-belted at all times.
Always position the passenger seat as far
back as possible and at the lowest level.
The above warning and recommendations
are compatible with regulations estab-
lished by the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration, NHTSA, permitting
the deactivation of passenger airbags by
means of an on-off switch for members of
certain at-risk groups.
Specifically, the at-risk groups are:
>
Infants in rear-facing infant seats
>
Persons with certain medical conditions
>
Children aged 12 and under in the pas-
senger seat.
NHTSA provides this information via their
website, www.nhtsa.dot.gov, or via their
Auto Safety Hotline toll-free at
1-800-424-9393 or 366-0123
in Washington, D.C. area.
<
The concept
Passenger airbags can be deactivated/
reactivated with the vehicle ignition key.
The key switch is located on the outer pas-
senger's side of the instrument panel.
The passenger airbags can only be deacti-
vated or reactivated with the vehicle stand-
ing still, ignition off and the passenger door
open.
Deactivation
Deactivation of the passenger airbags sys-
tem deactivates the passenger front, knee
and side airbag. The airbags on the driver
side remain active.
Using the vehicle ignition key, turn the key
switch to the OFF position. Note, the pas-
senger airbags will remain deactivated with
the switch in this position.
As soon as the reason for the deacti-
vation of the passenger airbags no
longer exists, you must reactivate these air-
bags so that they can deploy in an accident
within their normal deployment range.
<
Reactivating
Using the vehicle ignition key, turn the key
switch to the AUTO position.
All airbags in the vehicle are activated and
will be triggered under appropriate condi-
tions.
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