1996 CADILLAC FLEETWOOD belt

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine @ What’s wrong with this?
CAUTION:
~~
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. Don’t allow more than
1 inch (25 mm) of slack.
~~
A: The shoulder belt is too loose. It won’t give nearly
as much protection this way.
--_ 1-13

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine @' What's wrong with this?
L
A: The belt is buckled in the wrong place.
l=
You can be seriously injured if your belt is
buckled
in the wrong place like this. In a crash,
the belt would
go up over your abdomen. The belt
forces would be there, not at the pelvic bones. This
could cause serious internal injuries. Always
buckle your belt into the buckle nearest you.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine &: 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:
I:, ,
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 would
increase the chance of head and neck injury.
Also, the belt would apply too much force to the
ribs, which aren’t as strong as shoulder bones.
You could also severely injure internal organs
like your liver
or spleen.
1-15

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine &: What’s wrong with this?
I
I /! CAUTION:
You can be seriously injured by a twisted belt. In
a crash, you wouldn’t have the full width of the
belt to spread impact forces. If a belt is twisted,
make it straight
so it can work properly, or ask
your dealer to
fix it.
I I
A: The belt is twisted across the body.
1-16

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Supplemental Inflatable Restraint (SIR) System
This part explains the Supplemental Inflatable Restraint
(SIR) system or air bag system.
Your Cadillac has two air bags
-- one air bag for the
driver and another air bag for the right front passenger.
Here
are the most important things to know about the air
bag system:
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.
1-17

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine I’
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash
if you aren’t wearing your safety belt
-- even if
you have an air bag. Wearing your safety belt
during a crash helps reduce your chance of
hitting things inside the vehicle or being ejected
from
it. The air bag is only a “supplemental
restraint.” That
is, it works with safety belts but
doesn’t replace them.
Air bags are designed to
work only in moderate to severe crashes where
the front of your vehicle hits something. They
aren’t designed to inflate
at all in rollover, rear,
side or low-speed frontal crashes. Everyone in
your vehicle, including the driver, should wear a
safety belt properly
-- whether or not there’s an
air bag for that person.
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Air bags inflate with great force, €aster than the
blink of an eye.
If you’re too close to an inflating
air bag,
it could seriously injure you. Safety belts
help keep you in position for an air bag inflation
in a crash. Always wear your safety belt, even
with an
air bag. The driver should sit as far
back as possible while still maintaining control
of the vehicle.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine An inflating air bag can seriously injure small
children. Always secure chiIdren properly in your
vehicle.
To read how, see the part of this manual
called “Children” and the caution label
on the
right front passenger’s safety belt.
AIR
BAG
There is an air bag readiness
light
on the instrument
panel, which shows
AIR
BAG.
The system checks the air bag’s electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical
problem. See “Air Bag Readiness Light” in the Index
for more information.
How the Air Bag System Works
Where is the air bag?
The driver’s air bag is in the middle of the steering wheel.
1-19

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine In any particular crash, no one can say whether an air
bag should have inflated simply because of the damage
to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were.
Inflation is determined by the angle of the impact and
the vehicle’s deceleration. Vehicle damage is only one
indication of this.
What makes an air bag inflate?
In a frontal or near-frontal impact of sufficient severity,
the air bag sensing system detects that the vehicle is
suddenly stopping as a result of a crash. The sensing
system triggers a chemical reaction of
the sodium azide
sealed in the inflator. The reaction produces nitrogen
gas, which inflates the air bag. The inflator, air bag and
related hardware
are all part of the air bag modules
packed inside the steering wheel and in the instrument
panel in front of the right front passenger.
How does an air bag restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or
the instrument panel. The air bag supplements the
protection provided by safety belts. Air bags distribute the force
of the impact more evenly over the occupant’s
upper body, stopping the occupant more gradually. But
air bags would not help you
in many types of collisions,
including rollovers, rear impacts and side impacts,
primarily because an occupant’s motion is not toward the
air bag.
Air bags should never be regarded as anything
more than a supplement to safety belts, and then
only in
moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions.
What will you see after an air bag inflates?
After the air bag inflates, it quickly deflates. This occurs
so quickly that some people may not even realize the air
bag inflated. Some components of the air bag module in
the steering wheel hub for the driver’s air bag, or the
instrument panel for
the right front passenger’s bag, will
be hot for a short time. The part of the bag that comes
into contact with you may be warrn, but it will never be
too hot to touch. There will be some smoke and dust
coming from vents in the deflated air bags. Air bag
inflation will not prevent
the driver from seeing or fiom
being able to steer the vehicle,
nor will it stop people
from leaving the vehicle.
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