2005 Lexus RX 330 Owners Manual - Page 202

OCCUPANT RESTRAINT SYSTEMS CAUTION D The SRS front airbag system is designed only as a supplement to the primary protection of the driver and front passenger seat belt systems. The driver and front passenger can be killed or seriously injured by the inflating airbags if they do not wear the available seat belts properly. During sudden braking just before a collision, an unrestrained driver or front passenger can move forward into direct contact with or close proximity to the airbag which may then deploy during the collision. To ensure maximum protection in an accident, the driver and all passengers in the vehicle must wear their seat belts properly. Wearing a seat belt properly during an accident reduces the chances of death or serious injury or being thrown out of the vehicle. For instructions and precautions concerning the seat belt system, see "Seat belts" on page 154. D Improperly seated and/or restrained infants and children can be killed or seriously injured by the deploying airbags. An infant or child who is too small to use a seat belt should be properly secured using a child restraint system. Lexus strongly recommends that all infants and children be placed in the rear seat of the vehicle and properly restrained. The rear seat is the safest for infants and children. For instructions concerning the installation of a child restraint system, see "Child restraint" on page 198 . The SRS front airbags are designed to deploy in severe (usually frontal) collisions where the magnitude and duration of the forward deceleration of the vehicle exceeds the designed threshold level. The SRS front airbags will deploy if the severity of the impact is above the designed threshold level, comparable to an approximate 25 km/h (15 mph) collision when the vehicle has the impact straight into a fixed barrier that does not move or deform. However, this threshold velocity will be considerably higher if the vehicle strikes an object, such as a parked vehicle or sign pole, which can move or deform on impact, or if the vehicle is involved in an underride collision (e.g. a collision in which the front of the vehicle "underrides", or goes under, the bed of a truck, etc.). 171