2-44{ WARNINGTo reduce the risk of neck andhead injury during a crash, infantsneed complete support. This isbecause an infant's neck is notfully developed and its headweighs so much compared withthe rest of its body. In a crash, aninfant in a rear-facing childrestraint settles into the restraint,so the crash forces can bedistributed across the strongestpart of an infant's body, the backand shoulders. Infants shouldalways be secured in rear-facingchild restraints.{ WARNINGA young child's hip bones are stillso small that the vehicle's regularsafety belt may not remain low onthe hip bones, as it should.Instead, it may settle up aroundthe child's abdomen. In a crash,the belt would apply force on abody area that is unprotected byany bony structure. This alonecould cause serious or fatalinjuries. To reduce the risk ofserious or fatal injuries during acrash, young children shouldalways be secured in appropriatechild restraints.Child Restraint Systems(A) Rear-Facing Infant SeatA rear-facing infant seat (A) providesrestraint with the seating surfaceagainst the back of the infant.The harness system holds the infantin place and, in a crash, acts to keepthe infant positioned in the restraint.srx.book Page 44 Monday, June 8, 2009 8:28 AM
