Page 13 of 340

I 
Part 
Here  you’ll  find  information  about  the 
seats in your  Oldsmobile  and  how to 
use  your  safety  belts  properly 
. You 
can also learn  about  some  things  you 
should  not 
do with  safety  belts. 
Seats & Safety  Belts 
Seats  and  Seat  Controls ........................................................................\
................... 12 
Safety  Belts 
........................................................................\
....................................... 16 
How to  Wear  Safety  Belts  Properly ........................................................................\
. 21 
Driver  Position 
22 
Safety  Belt  Use  During  Pregnancy ........................................................................\
... 25 
Right  Front  Passenger  Position 
........................................................................\
......... 26 
Center  Passenger  Position 
........................................................................\
................. 26 
Rear  Seat  Passengers 
........................................................................\
......................... 27 
Children 
........................................................................\
.............................................. 30 
Smaller  Children  and Babies ........................................................................\
............. 30 
Child  Restraints ........................................................................\
................................ 31 
Larger  Children ........................................................................\
.................................. 39 
Safety  Belt  Extender ........................................................................\
......................... 41 
.. ........................................................................\
................................... 
Replacing  Safety  Belts  After  a Crash ....................................................................... \
42 
11  
     
        
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Seats & Safety Beh 
18 
Why Safety Belts Work 
When you ride in or on anything, you 
go as fast  as  it goes. 
1. For example, if the  bike  is going 10 
mph (16 km/h), so is  the  child. 
2. When  the  bike  hits  the  block,  it 
stops.  But  the  child  keeps  going! 3. Take  the  simplest “car.” Suppose 
it’s  just  a  seat  on  wheels.  
     
        
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Seats & Safety  Belts 
30 
Rear  Seat  Outside  Passenger Positions 
(CONT.) 
To unlatch  the belt, just push  the 
button  on the  buckle. 
Smaller  Children  and  Babies 
Children 
Everyone  in a  vehicle  needs protection! 
That  includes  infants and  all  children 
smaller  than adult  size. 
In fact, the law 
in  every  state and Canadian  province 
says  children  up  to some  age  must be 
restrained  while in a  vehicle. 
I CAUTION 
A 
Smaller  children  and babies 
should  always  be  restrained 
in  a  child  or infant restraint. The 
instructions  for the  restraint  will 
say  whether  it is  the  right  type  and 
size  for  your  child. 
A very  young 
child’s  hip bones are 
so small that a 
regular  belt  might  not stay  low on 
the hips,  as it should. Instead,  the 
belt  will  likely  be  over  the child’s 
abdomen.  In a crash  the belt  would 
apply  force  right 
on the  child’s 
abdomen,  which  could  cause 
serious  or fatal injuries. 
So, be  sure 
that  any child  small  enough for one 
is  always  properly  restrained in a 
child  or infant restraint.  
     
        
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Seats & Safety Belts 
32 
Where  to Put the  Restraint 
Accident  statistics show  that children 
are  safer  if they  are restrained in the 
rear  rather  than  the  front seat.  We at 
General  Motors  therefore  recommend 
that  you put  your  child  restraint in the 
rear  seat  unless  the child  is  an infant 
and  you’re  the only  adult in  the vehicle. 
In that  case,  you  might  want to secure 
the  restraint 
in the front seat  where you 
can  keep  an eye 
on the  baby. 
Wherever 
you install  it, be  sure  to 
secure  the child  restraint  properly. 
Top  Strap 
If your  child  restraint has a top  strap,  it 
should  be  anchored.  If you  need  to have 
an  anchor  installed,  you can  ask  your 
Oldsmobile  dealer  to put  it  in  for  you.  If 
you  want  to install  an  anchor  yourself, 
your  dealer  can  tell  you  how  to do  it. 
Vehicles  first  sold  in  Canada  have  child 
restraint  anchor  bracket  hardware 
in 
the glove  box,  along  with  instructions 
for  installing  it.  This  should  be  used 
only  with  a child  restraint,  and  only to 
secure  a child  restraint at 
a rear  seating 
position.  Additional  anchor  brackets  for  child  restraints  at  the rear  seating 
positions  are available  at Oldsmobile 
dealerships  in  Canada. 
Securing  a  Child  Restraint  in  a 
Rear  Outside  Position 
You’ll  be  using  the lap-shoulder  belt. 
See  the earlier  section  about  the top 
strap  if the  child  restraint  has 
one.  
     
        
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1. Put  the restraint on  the seat.  Follow 
the  instructions for  the child 
restraint. 
2. Secure  the child  in the  child  restraint 
as  the  instructions  say. 
3. Pull out  the  vehicle's  safety  belt  and 
run  the  lap part through or around 
the  restraint. The  child restraint 
instructions 
will show  you  how.  Tilt 
the  latch plate  to~adjust  the  belt 
if 
needed. See if the shoulder  belt 
would  go  in front 
of the  child's  face 
or  neck. 
If so, put  it  behind  the child 
restraint. 
4. Buckle  the belt.  Make  sure  the 
release  button faces upward or 
outward, 
so you'll  be  able to 
unbuckle  it quicldy 
if you  ever  need 
to. 
5. To tighten  the belt,  pull up on  the 
shoulder belt  while  you push down 
on  the  child  restraint. 
33  
     
        
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34 
Securing a Child  Restraint  in a 
Rear  Outside  Position (CONT.) 
6. Push  and pull the child  restraint in 
different  directions  to be  sure  it  is 
secure.  To  remove 
the child  restraint,  just 
unbuckle  the vehicle’s  safety  belt  and 
let  it 
go back  all the  way.  The safety  belt 
will  move  freely  again  and be  ready 
to 
work  for an adult  or  larger  child 
passenger. 
Securing  a  Child  Restraint  in  a 
Center  Seat  Position 
When  you  secure  a child  restraint in a 
center  seating  position,  you’ll  be  using 
the  lap  belt. 
See  the earlier  section  about  the top 
strap 
if the  child  restraint has one.  
     
        
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Seats & Safety  Belts 
36 
Securing  a  Child  Restraint  in  the 
Right  Front  Seat 
To use a  child  restraint here,  you  will 
need  a  special  infant/child  seat 
attaching  belt and the hardware  that 
goes  with  it. See  the earlier  section 
about  the top strap 
if the  child  restraint 
has one. 
I’ 
Your  dealer  can get these and  install the 
hardware  for  you. It’s free.  The special 
belt  is 
GM Part No. 12340286. Your 
dealer  can find  the correct  hardware in 
the  accessory  section 
of the GM Parts 
Catalog. 
I CAUTION 
A 
Don’t use  the special 
infant/child  seat attaching 
hardware in another  vehicle. 
If you 
do,  it may  not work  well 
and the 
child  may  not be protected  properly 
in  a crash. The  special hardware is 
for  your  vehicle  only. 
Also,  don’t use  the special  belt  for 
anything but  securing  a  child 
restraint  in  the right front seat.  If 
an  adult  or  older  child  uses it,  the 
belt  won’t  provide  protection and 
may  even  increase  injury in a crash.  
     
        
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Once the special  hardware is installed, 
please  follow  the  instructions  with it 
and  these steps: 
1. Unbuclde  the automatic  lap-shoulder 
belt  by pushing  the  button 
on the 
buckle.  It will  stay  on  the  door, ready 
to  be  rebuclded  for  use by adults  or 
older  children. 
2. Snap one hook  of the  infant/child 
seat attaching  belt  near the floor  at 
the  door  side  of the  seat. 3. Put  the belt’s  special  latch plate into 
the  vehicle’s  safety  belt  buckle. 
37