1993 PONTIAC GRAND-AM seats

Seats & Safety 6elts
Here Are Questions Many People
Ask About Safety Belts-
and the Answers
Q: Won’t I be trapped in the vehicle
after
an accident if I’m wearing a
safety belt?
wearing a safety belt or not. But you
can easily unbuckle a safety belt,
even if you’re upside down. And
your chance of being conscious
during and after an accident,
so you
can unbuckle and get out, is much
greater if you are belted.
A: You could be-whether you’re
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Q: Why don’t they just put in air
bags
so people won’t have to wear
safety belts?
Inflatable Restraint systems, are in
some vehicles today and will be in
more of them in the future. But they
are supplemental systems only-so
they work
with safety belts, not
instead of them. Every “air bag” system ever offered for sale has
required the use of safety belts. Even
if you’re in a vehicle that has “air
bags,” you still have to buckle up to
get the most protection. That’s true
not only in frontal collisions, but
especially in side and other
collisions.
A: ‘Air bags,” or Supplemental
Q: If I’m a good driver, and I never
drive far from home, why should
I
wear safety belts?
if you’re in an accident-even one
that isn’t your fault-you and your
passengers can be hurt. Being a good
driver doesn’t protect you from
things beyond your control, such as
bad drivers.
Most accidents occur within
25 miles
(40 km) of home. And the greatest
number of serious injuries and deaths
occur at speeds of less than
40 mph
(65 km/h).
Safety belts are for everyone.
A: You may be an excellent driver, but
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Seats & Safety 6elts
1
Vehicles First Sold in Canada
Was your Pontiac first sold, when new,
in Canada? (If it was, a sticker on the
driver’s door will say “conforms to
all
applicable Canada motor vehicle. . . ’7
etc.) If so, then the rest of Part 1 does
not apply to your vehicle.
To learn how to use your safety belts,
please read the
Owner’s Manual
Safety Belt Supplement.
It comes with
every new Pontiac first sold in Canada.
18
Driver Position
This section describes the driver’s
restraint system.
Automatic Lap-Shoulder Belt
This safety belt is called “automatic”
because you don’t have to buckle up
when you get into your vehicle.
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Seats & Safety 6elts
Automatic Lap-Shoulder Belt
(CONE)
To unbuckle the automatic belt, just
push the button on the buckle.
mmm 20
To reattach the automatic belt:
1. Close and lock the door.
2. Adjust the seat (to see how, see the
Index under Seat Controls) so you
can sit up straight.
3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the
belt across you. Don’t let it get
twisted.
4. Push the latch plate into the buckle
until it clicks.
Q: What’s wrong with this?
A: The shoulder belt is too loose. It
won’t give nearly as much protection
this way.
loose. In a crash, you would move
forward too much, which could
significantly increase injury. The
shoulder belt should
fit against
your body.
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Seats & Safety 6elts
Safety Belt Use During
Pregnancy
Safety belts work for everyone,
including pregnant women. Like all
occupants, they are more likely to be
seriously injured if they don’t wear
safety belts.
A pregnant woman should wear a lap-
shoulder belt, and the lap portion should
be worn as low as possible throughout
the pregnancy.
The best way to protect the fetus is to
protect the mother. When a safety belt is
worn properly,
it’s more likely that the
fetus won’t be hurt in a crash. For
pregnant women, as for anyone, the key
to making safety belts effective is
wearing them properly.
Right Front Passenger Position
The right front passenger’s safety belt
works the same way as the driver’s
safety belt.
See the
Index under Driver Position.
Adjust the seat (to see how, see the
Index under Seat Controls) so you can
sit up straight. Move your seat far
enough forward that your feet touch the
part of the vehicle that is called the
“toeboard”
(A). That way you’d be less
likely to slide under the lap belt in a
crash.
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2
Seats & Safety 6elts
Rear Seat Outside Passenger
Positions
(CONT.)
If the belt stops before it reaches the
buckle, tilt the latch plate and keep
pulling until you can buckle it.
24
If the belt is not long enough, see the
Index under Safety Belt Extender.
Make sure the release button on the
buckle faces upward or outward
so you
would be able to unbuckle it quickly
if
, you ever had to.
3. To make the lap part tight, pull down
on the buckle end of the belt as you
pull up on the shoulder part.
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Seats & Safety Belts
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for Children and Small Adults
Your vehicle may be equipped with rear
shoulder belt comfort guides. This
feature will provide added comfort
for
children who have outgrown child
restraints, and for small adults. If your
vehicle does not have comfort guides,
you may ask your dealer to order and
install them for you. The comfort guides
pull the shoulder belts away from
the
neck and head.
I
There is one guide for each outside
passenger position in the rear seat.
You
will find them tucked in between the
seat back and the interior body, about
half-way down the edge of the seat
back. Here is how you should install the
comfort guides on the shoulder belts:
1. Pull the elastic cord out from
between the edge
of the seat back and
the interior body to remove the guide
from its storage clip.
2. Slide the guide under and past the belt.
The elastic cord must be under the
belt. Then, place the guide over the
belt, and insert the two edges of the belt
into the slots
of the guide.
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..I
Seats & Safety 6elts
t
Center Passenger Position
If your vehicle has a rear bench seat, someone can sit in the center position.
28
When you sit in the center seating
position,
you have a lap safety belt,
which has no retractor.
To make the belt
longer, tilt the latch plate and pull it
along the belt.
To make the belt shorter, pull its free
end as shown until the belt is snug.
Buckle, position and release it the same way as the lap part of a lap-shoulder
belt.
If the belt isn’t long enough, see the
Index under Safety Belt Extender.
Make sure the release button on the
buckle faces upward
or outward so you
would be able
to unbuckle it quickly if
you ever had to.
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Seats & Safety 6elts
1
Smaller Children and Babies
(CONT.)
(Continued)
& Secure the baby in an infant
restraint.
30
Child Restraints
Be sure to follow the instructions for the
restraint. You may find these
instructions on the restraint itself
or in a
booklet, or both. These restraints use
the belt system in your vehicle, but the
child
also has to be secured within the
restraint to help reduce the chance
of
personal injury. The instructions that
come with the infant or child restraint
will show you how to do that.
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.
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