2000 Ford Taurus Owner Guide 1st Printing - Page 88

Seating and safety restraints Safety belts for rear-facing occupants (wagon only) Never use child safety seats in the third seat of a wagon. Your vehicle is equipped with safety belts containing an adjust tongue at the rear-facing seating positions. When the adjust tongue of the lap/shoulder combination seat belt is latched into the buckle, the tongue will allow the lap portion to become shorter, but locks the webbing in place to restrict it from becoming longer. Before you reach and latch a combination lap and shoulder belt having an adjust tongue into the buckle, you may have to lengthen the lap belt portion of it. To lengthen the lap belt, pull some webbing out of the shoulder belt retractor. While holding the webbing below the tongue, grasp the tongue so that it is parallel to the webbing and slide the tongue upward. Provide enough length so that the tongue can reach the buckle. To fasten the belt, pull the combination lap and shoulder belt from the retractor so that the shoulder belt portion of the safety belt crosses your shoulder and chest. Be sure the belt is not twisted. If the belt is twisted, remove the twist. Insert the tongue into the proper buckle for your seating position until you hear a snap and feel it latch. Make sure the tongue is securely fastened to the buckle by pulling on the tongue. 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. 88