Ford Contour (1999 year). Manual — part 19

Seating and safety restraints

74

Folding rear seats (if equipped)

Pull the release knob located in the
luggage compartment. Fold down
the seat. The seat back cannot be
released while the built-in child
seat (if equipped) is open.

If you are carrying objects that
might damage the center rear
three-point safety belt, you can
unbuckle the end of the belt from
the small buckle on the seat
cushion and let the retractor reel it
up. Reconnect the belt tongue to
the buckle when you fold the seat
back up. Refer to Center position
three-point safety belts in this
chapter.

To raise the rear seat back, push
the seat back upward until it locks
in place. Make sure it is firmly
latched by pushing forward and
back on it.

Check to see that the seat
and seat back are latched

securely in position. Keep luggage
area free of objects that would
prevent proper engagement.

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75

Important safety restraints
precautions

The use of safety belts helps to
restrain both driver and passenger
in case of a collision. In most states
and Canada, the law requires the
use of safety belts.

Always drive and ride with
your seatback upright and

the lap belt snug and low across
the hips.

Lock the doors of your
vehicle before driving to

lessen the risk of the door coming
open in a collision.

Cargo should always be
secured to prevent it from

shifting and causing damage to the
vehicle or harm to passengers.

To prevent the risk of injury,
make sure children sit where

they can be properly restrained.

SAFETY RESTRAINTS

Front and rear seat
occupants including

pregnant women, should wear
safety belts for optimum
protection in an accident.

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Seating and safety restraints

76

Combination lap and shoulder
belt

Insert the tongue into the slot in
the buckle to fasten.

Push the red release button and
remove the tongue from the slot to
unfasten.

The passenger safety restraints in
the vehicle are combination lap and
shoulder belts. The front and rear
seat passenger safety belts have
two types of locking modes.

Using safety restraints properly

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.

Use the shoulder belt on the
outside shoulder only. Never wear
the shoulder belt under the arm.

Never swing it around your neck
over the inside shoulder.

Never use a single belt for more
than one person.

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Seating and safety restraints

77

Automatic locking mode

In this mode, the shoulder belt is
automatically prelocked; however,
the belt will react to remove any
slack in the shoulder belt.

The automatic locking mode is not
available on the driver’s safety belt.

When to use the automatic
locking mode

• When a tight lap and shoulder
belt fit is desired.

• Any time a child safety seat is
installed in the vehicle. For
information on the proper use of a
child safety seat, refer to Child
safety seats later in this chapter.

Vehicle sensitive (emergency)
locking mode

The vehicle sensitive mode is the
normal retractor mode which locks
the belts in response to vehicle
movement. For example, if the
driver brakes suddenly, turns a
corner sharply or your vehicle
receives an impact of 8 km/h
(5 mph) or more the combination
safety belts will lock to help reduce
the forward movement of the
driver and passengers.

The retractor can be made to lock
by pulling sharply on the belt.

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