1996 CHEVROLET ASTRO Owners Manual

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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.
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.
The safety belt locks
if there's a sudden stop or a crash.
1-17

Shoulder Belt Beight Adjuster
Before you begin to drive, move the shoulder belt
adjuster to the height that is right for you.
To move it down, push in at the top of the arrows and
move the height adjuster to the desired,position. You can
move the adjuster up just by pushing up on the shoulder
belt guide. After you move the adjuster to where you
want
it, try to move it down without pushing in to make
sure it has locked into position.
Adjust the height
so that the shoulder portion of the
belt is centered on your shoulder. The belt should be
away from your face and neck, but not falling
off
your shoulder.
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e." What's wrong with this?
A: The shoulder belt is too loose. It won't give nearly
as much protection this way.
A CAUTION: '. .' ' I,
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.
1-19

@ What’s wrong with this?
A: The belt is buckled in the wrong place.
/i CAUTION:
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.
1-20

@' What's wrong with this?
A: The belt is over an armrest.
/ CAUTION:
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You can be ser rsly injured if your belt goes
over an armrest like this. The belt would be much
too high. In
a crash, you can slide under the belt.
The belt force would then be applied
at the
abdomen, not at the pelvic bones, and that could
cause serious or fatal injuries. Be sure the belt
goes under the armrests.
1-21

e.' What's wrong with this?
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.
A: The shoulder belt is worn under the arm. It should
be worn
over the shoulder at all times.
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Q.’ What’s wrong with this?
A: The belt is twisted across the body.
A CAUTION:
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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.
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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.
Supplemental Inflatable Restraint
(SIR) System
This part explains the Supplemental Inflatable Restraint
(SIR) system
or air bag system.
Your vehicle 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:
You can be severely injul
- -I 01 Alled in E. -rash 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.