2000 Ford F150 Owner's Manual - Page 120

Seating and safety restraints 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 injury to the infant when the air bag inflates is substantial. The vast majority of 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 potentially deadly risk in some situations, particularly when a front seat occupant is not properly buckled up. The most effective way to reduce the risk of unnecessary air bag injuries without reducing the overall safety of the vehicle is to make sure all occupants are properly restrained in the vehicle, especially in the front seat. This provides the protection of safety belts and permits the air bags to provide the additional protection they were 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 safety belts, because safety belts in modern vehicles are designed to work as a safety system 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 constantly monitor the child's condition. 120