1995 BUICK REGAL Owners Manual

Head Restraints
Slide the head restraint up or down so that the top of the
restraint
is closest to the top of your ears. This position
reduces the chance
of a neck injury in a crash.
Seatback Latches (2-Door Models)
lr your vehicle is parked facing down a Fairly steep hill,
the seatback may not fold without some help from you.
To fold the locked seatback forward, push the seatback
toward the rear and
lift this latch. Then the seatback will
fold forward. The latch must be down for the seat to
work properly.
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Safety Belts: They’re for Everyone
This part of the manual tells you how to use safety belts
properly.
It also tells you some things you should not do
with safety belts.
And it explains the Supplemental Restraint System, or
“air bag” system. Your
vehicle has
a light that
comes
on as a reminder to
buckle up.
(See “Safety Belt
Reminder Light”
in the
In many states and Canadian provinces, the law says to
wear safety belts. Here’s why:
They work.
You never know if you’ll be in a crash. If you do have a
crash, you don’t know if it will be a bad one.
A few crashes are mild, and some crashes can be
so
serious that even buckled up a person wouldn’t survive.
But most crashes are
in between. In many of them,
people who buckle
up can survive and sometimes walk
away. Without belts they could have been badly hurt or
killed.
After more than
25 years of safety belts in vehicles,
the facts are clear. In most crashes buckling up does
matter
... a lot!
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Why Safety Belts Work
When you ride in or on anything, you go as fast as it
goes.
I
Put someone on it.
Take the simplest vehicle. Suppose it’s just a seat on
wheels.
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.. -*-*- ........ ....... ” ..................
.........
Get it up to speed. Then stop the vehicle. The rider
doesn’t stop.
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The person keeps going until stopped by something.
In a real vehicle, it could be the windshield ...
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or the instrument panel ... or the safety belts!
With safety belts,
you slow down as the vehicle does.
You get more time to stop. You stop over more distance,
and your strongest bones take the forces. That’s why
safety belts
make such good sense- ,-
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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?
A: YOLI cndd be -- whether you’re wearing a safety
belt or not,
But you can lmbuckle 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 1n~tc17 greater if
you are belted.
Why don’t they just put in air bags so people
won’t have
to wear safety belts?
A: Air bags are in many vehicles today and will
be in Inore of them in the future. But they are
supplemental systems only;
so they work ~Yth
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.
Q.’ If I’m a good driver, and I never drive far from
home, why should
I wear safety belts?
A: You may be an excellent driver, but 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.
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How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
Adults
This part is only for people of adult size.
Be aware that there are special things to know about
safety belts and children.
And there are different rules
for smaller children and babies.
If a child will be riding
in your Buick, see the part of this manual called
“Children.” Follow those rules for everyone’s
protection.
First,
you’ll want to know which restraint systems your
vehicle has.
We’ll start with the driver position.
Driver Position
This part describes the driver’s restraint system.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The driver has a lap-shoulder belt. Here’s how to wear it
properly.
I. Close. and lock the door.
2. Adjust the seat (to see how, see “Seats” in the Index)
so you can sit up straight. 3.
Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let
it get twisted.
The shoulder belt may lock
if you pull the belt across
you
very quickly. If this happens, let the belt go back
slightly to unlock
it. Then pull the belt across you
more slowly.
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4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
If the belt isn’t long enough, see “Safety Belt
Extender” at the end of this section.
Make sure the release button
on the buckle is
positioned
so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly if you ever had to.
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.
5. ‘To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end
of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder belt.
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