1993 PONTIAC GRAND-AM Owners Manual

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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.
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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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The lap part of the belt should be worn
low and snug on the hips, just touching
the thighs,
In a crash, this applies force
to the strong pelvic bones. And you’d be
less likely to slide under the lap belt.
If
you slid under it, the belt would apply
force at your abdomen. This could cause serious or even fatal injuries. The
shoulder belt should go over the
shoulder and across the chest. These
parts
of the body are best able to take
belt restraining forces.
The safety belt locks if there’s
a sudden
stop or
a crash.
~~
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 shoulder belt
should
fit against your body.
To unlatch the belt, just push the button
on the buckle.
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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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3. Be sure that the belt is not twisted
and it lies flat. The elastic cord must
be under the belt and the guide
on
top.
4. Buckle the belt around the child, and
make sure that both the lap belt and
the shoulder belt are secured
properly. Make sure that the shoulder
belt crosses the shoulder. See the
Index under Safety Belts.
r
X1 205
To remove and store the comfort guides,
just perform these steps in reverse order.
Squeeze the belt edges together
so that
you can take them out from the guides.
Pull the guide upward
to expose its
storage clip, and then slide the guide
onto the clip. Rotate the guide and clip
inward and in between the seat back and
the interior body, leaving
only the loop
of elastic cord exposed.
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Seats & Safety 6elts
t
Center Passenger Position
If your vehicle has a rear bench seat, someone can sit in the center position.
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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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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.
Smaller Children and Babies
-
/f Smaller ehifdren aud babies
a child or Snt restraint. The
instructitlns 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 smd that
a regular belt might not stay low
on the hips, as it should, Instead,
the belt will likely be mer the
child’s abdomen. In a crash the
belt would apply hrce 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
lestraint.
hould always be restrained in Never hold a baby in your
L arms while riding in a vehicle.
A baby doesn’t weigh much-until
a crash. During a crash a baby will
become so heavy you can’t hold it.
For example, in a crash at only
25 mph (40 Mh), a 12-pound
(5.5 kg) baby will suddenly
become a 240-pound (110 kg) force
on your arms. The baby would be
almost impossible to hold.
(Continued)
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Seats & Safety 6elts
1
Smaller Children and Babies
(CONT.)
(Continued)
& Secure the baby in an infant
restraint.
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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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I An unsecured child restraint
- can move around in a collision
or sudden stop and injure people in
the vehicle.
Be sure to properly
secure any child restraint
in your
vehicle-even when no child
is in it.
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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 Pontiac 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 Pontiac
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.
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.
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