Whoa! Ford manual -- LATCH & Seatbelt installation!

Mae

Well-known member
I'm cruising through the Ford Manual (2010 Expedition) to find out if I can lock the seatbelt in booster mode (anybody know? I can't find it).

Then, I find this:

ScreenShot2013-04-11at125103PM_zpsed8b7abf.png



ScreenShot2013-04-11at125426PM_zps6a1f1cac.png



Whaaaaat?
 
ADS

creideamh

Well-known member
As long as the car seat manufacturer allows it as well, which I think only a couple do (Combi and someone else? and supposedly Clek now FF...) There's a thread about it somewhere around here.

Don't know the answer to the booster locking question in Fords, but unless you really really have to, I wouldn't. U of Michigan Transportation Institute? studied it and found it could lead to submarining.
 

Mae

Well-known member
Don't know the answer to the booster locking question in Fords, but unless you really really have to, I wouldn't. U of Michigan Transportation Institute? studied it and found it could lead to submarining.

Yeah, that's what I'm trying to find info on. :) Do you have anything handy?
 

creideamh

Well-known member
> At University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, we
> researched the practice of switching seat belts to the locking mode when
> used with boosters as part of the development of an updated version of
> the UMTRI document on best practices in child passenger safety (coming
> soon.) When speaking with several vehicle manufacturers, most were
> against the practice of locking seatbelt with boosters because seatbelts
> are designed to allow the torso to rotate past vertical in a frontal
> crash, which acts to prevent submarining below the lap part of the belt
> when there's no crotch strap. When we have tested boosters with the 6YO
> and 10YO dummies, they definitely generate sufficient belt loads to
> activate the locking mechanism in a severe crash. I suspect that some
> of the reports of nonlocking belts may be from a combination of low
> occupant mass and low crash severity.
> The suggestion to lock the seatbelt with boosters to deal with wiggly
> out-of-position kids arose years ago when there weren't higher weight
> harness products available. These would be the best choice if a child
> can't sit properly in a booster seat. Since one of the key curriculum
> directives is to follow the manufacturers' directions, if the
> manufacturers don't tell you to lock the seatbelt with a booster, CPST's
> shouldn't be suggesting it as an option for parents.
>
> Kathy Klinich
> University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute

Sorry for the format, copying from the email
 

Mae

Well-known member
That's exactly what I just read elsewhere, lol. Is there anything else? Is their data available?

Also, when did they announce this?
 

creideamh

Well-known member
;) You'll catch up in no time!

The email about not locking the seatbelt with boosters was sent to me on March 30, 2012, sent from them on March 7, 2012. The info is also in their January-March 2012 publication here: http://www.umtri.umich.edu/content/rr_43_1.pdf but it doesn't mention actual data, just reiterates to harness kids if they're wiggly because of the submarining risk with locking the belt.
 
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