Transporting children safely, The right place for chil dren, Child-restraint systems, installation – Mini 2008 Cooper User Manual

Page 38: The right place for chil- dren

Trans

ortin

ildren

saf

ely

Transporting children safely

The right place for chil-
dren

Do not leave children unattended in the
vehicle, otherwise they could endanger

themselves and/or other persons by opening the
doors, for example.

Children should always sit in the rear

Accident research has shown that the safest
place for children is on the rear seat.

Only transport children under the age of
13 or smaller than 5 ft/150 cm in the rear

in a child-restraint system suitable for their age,
weight and size. Otherwise there is an increased
risk of injury in the event of an accident.

Children 13 years of age or older must be buck-
led in with a safety belt as soon as there no
longer is any child-restraint system that is
appropriate for their age, size and weight.

Only install child seats in the rear when the
rear seat backrest is folded all the way

back and engaged. Otherwise there will be an
increased risk of injury in the event of an acci-
dent.

Exception for front passenger seat

Front passenger airbags

Should it be necessary to use a child-
restraint system on the front passenger

seat, the front and side airbags must be deacti-
vated. Otherwise, there is an increased risk of
injury to the child if the airbags deploy, even if
the child is seated in a child-restraint system.

For more information on automatic deactivation
of the front passenger airbags, refer to page

Child-restraint systems,
installation

Observe the child-restraint system manu-
facturer's instructions when selecting,

installing and using child-restraint systems. Oth-
erwise the protective effect may be dimin-
ished.

On the front passenger seat

After installing a child-restraint system on
the front passenger seat, make sure that

the front and side airbags for the front passen-
ger are deactivated, otherwise there is an
increased risk of injury if the airbags deploy.

Child seat security

All rear safety belts and the safety belt for the
front passenger can be prevented from being
pulled out in order to secure child-restraint sys-
tems.

To lock the safety belt

Secure the child-restraint system with the
belt.

Pull the belt strap all the way out.

Allow the belt strap to retract and pull it taut
against the child-restraint system.

The safety belt is locked.

To unlock the safety belt

Open the belt buckle

Remove the child-restraint system.