1999 Ford Taurus Owner Guide 1st Printing - Page 86

Seating and safety restraints The lap belts should fit snugly and as low as possible around the hips, not around the waist. Front and rear seat occupants, including pregnant women, should wear safety belts for optimum protection in an accident. Each seating position in your vehicle has a specific safety belt assembly which is made up of one buckle and one tongue that are designed to be used as a pair. 1) Use the shoulder belt on the outside shoulder only. Never wear the shoulder belt under the arm. 2) Never swing the safety belt around your neck over the inside shoulder. 3) Never use a single belt for more than one person. Due to folding rear seats, sometimes the buckles and tongues toward the center of the vehicle may be hidden by the rear edge of the seat cushion. Pull them out so they will be accessible. While you are fastened in the seat belt, the shoulder belt adjusts to your movement. However, if you brake hard, turn hard or your vehicle receives an impact of 8 km/h (5 mph) or more, the safety belt will become locked and help reduce your forward movement. To unfasten the belt, push the red release button on the end of the buckle. This allows the tongue to unlatch from the buckle. While the belt retracts, guide the tongue to its original position to prevent it from striking you or the vehicle. Safety belt extension assembly If the safety belt assembly is too short, even when fully extended, 20 cm (8 inches) can be added to the safety belt assembly by adding a safety belt 86