FORD 2003 F-550 v.1 - Manual (Page 85)

If your vehicle has rear seats, always transport children who are
12 and younger in the rear seat. Always use safety belts and
child restraints properly. If a child in a rear facing infant seat must be
transported in front, the passenger air bag must be turned OFF. This is
because the back of the infant seat is too close to the inflating air bag
and the risk of a fatal injuryto the infant when the air bag inflates is
substantial.
The vast majorityof drivers and passengers 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
potentiallydeadlyrisk in some situations, particularlywhen a front seat
occupant is not properlybuckled up. The most effective wayto reduce
the risk of unnecessaryair bag injuries without reducing the overall
safetyof the vehicle is to make sure all occupants are properly
restrained in the vehicle, especiallyin the front seat. This provides the
protection of safetybelts and permits the air bags to provide the
additional protection theywere designed to provide. If you choose to
deactivate your air bag, you are losing the very significant risk reducing
benefits of the air bag and you are also reducing the effectiveness of the
safetybelts, because safetybelts in modern vehicles are designed to
work as a safetysystem 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 Guide.
NHTSA deactivation criteria (excluding Canada)
1. Infant. An infant (less than 1 year old) must ride in the front seat
because:
• the vehicle has no rear seat;
• the vehicle has a rear seat too small to accommodate a rear-facing
infant seat; or
• the infant has a medical condition which, according to the infant’s
physician, makes it necessary for the infant to ride in the front so that
the driver can constantlymonitor the child’s condition.
2. Child age 1 to 12. A child age 1 to 12 must ride in the front seat
because:
• the vehicle has no rear seat;
• although children ages 1 to 12 ride in the rear seat(s) whenever
possible, children ages 1 to 12 sometimes must ride in the front
because no space is available in the rear seat(s) of the vehicle; or
Seating and Safety Restraints
85