1993 BUICK ROADMASTER Owners Manual

@ What’s wrong with this?
A: The shoulder belt-is too loose. It won’t give nearly
as much protection this way.
A CA ITION:
You can be seriously hurt if your shoulder belt
is
too loose. In a crash you would move forward
too much, which could increase injury. The
sh llder f--It s’ luld fit agains
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n
..
.. _1 ..
.:,-,
A: The belt is buckled in the wrong place:
A CP
You can be seriously injured if your belt is
buckled in the wrong place like this. In a crasl
the belt would
go up over your abdomen:T'
belt forces
would be there, not at the pelvic
bones.
This could cause serious internal
injuries.
Alw IS buc . . r belt into the buckle
nearest you,
32 ..

&: What-’s .wrong with this?
A: The shoulder belt is worn under the arm. It should
be worn over the shoulder at all times.
A CAUTION:
You can be seriously injured if you wear the
shoulder belt under your arm. In a crash, your
body would move too far forward, which woul
Also, the belt would apply too much force to the
ribs, which aren’t
as strong as shoulder bones.
I increase the chance of head and neck injury.
I YOU could also severely i
lik- -!our liver or spleen.
I
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Q.‘ What’s wrong with-this?
A.: The belt is twisted ~CTOSS the .body.
I CAUTION:
You can be seriously injured by a twisted belt.
In a crash,
you wouldn’t have the full width c
the belt to take impact forces. If a belt is twisted,
make it straight
so it can work proper1 or ask
your dealer to
fix it.

To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
The belt should
go back out of the way. ,
Before you, close the door, be sure the belt is out of the
way.
If you slam the door on it, you can damage both
the belt and your vehicle.
Supplemental Inflatable Restraint
System
(Air Bag)
This section .explains the driver’s Supplemental
Inflatable Restraint
(SIR) system, commonly referred to
as an air bag. Here are the most important things
to
know:
A CAUTION:
Even with an air bag, if you’re not wearing a
safety belt and you’re
in a crash, your injuries
may be much worse. Air bags are
not designed
to inflate
in rollovers or in rear, side or
low-speed frontal crashes.
You need to wear
your safety belt to reduce the chance of hitting
things inside the vehicle
or being ejected from
it. Alwavs wear vaur safety belt, even with an air
bag.
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I

A CAUTION:
Air bags inflate with great force, faster than the
blink
of an eye. If you’re too clo~se to an inflating
air bag,
it could seriously injure you. §afety
belts help keep you
in position for an air bag
inflation
in a crash. Always wear your safety
belt, even with an air bag, and
sit as far back as
you’cat rhile
stil- laintaining cc -rol of your
vehicle
b B; - System Light
There is an air bag readiness light on the instrument
panel, which shows
”INFL REST”. The system checks
igdf..ad .fie. light tells you if there is a.problem,. You
will see this light flash
for a few seconds when you
turn your ignition to “Run”
or “Start.” Then the light
should
g.6 out, which means
the system is ready.

How The Air Bag System Works
Where is the air bag?
The driver’s air bag is in the middle of the steering
wheel.
When is an air bag expected to inflate?
The air bag is designed to inflate ,in moderate to severe
frontal or near-fontal crashes. The air bag
will only
inflate if the velocity of the impact is above the designed
threshold level. When impacting straight into a wall that
does not’move or deform, the threshold level for most
GM vehicles is between 9 and 14 mph. However, this
velocity threshold depends
on the vehicle design and
may be several miles-per-hour faster or slower. In
addition, this threshold velocity will be considerably
higher
if the vehicle strikes an object such as a parked
car which will move and defonn
on impact. The air bag
is also not designed to inflate in rollovers, side impacts,
or rear impacts where the inflation would provide no
occupant protection benefit.
In any particular crash, the determination of-whether the
air bag should have inflated cannot be based solely on
the level
of damage on the vehicle(s). Inflation i,s
determined by the angle of the impact and the vehicle’s
deceleration,
of which vehicle damage is only one
indication. Repair cost
is not a good indicator of
whether an air bag should have deployed.
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What will you see after an -air bag inflation?