1996 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN Owners Manual

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 “Driver Position,” earlier in this section.
When the lap portion
of the belt is pulled out all the way, it will lock. If it
does, let it
go back all the way and start again.
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Center Passenger Position
Lap Belt
If your vehicle has front and rear bench seats, someone can sit in the center
positions.
When you sit in a 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.
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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 “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.
Rear Seat Passengers
It’s very important for rear seat passengers to buckle up! Accident statistics
show that unbelted people
in the rear seat are hurt more often in crashes
than those who are wearing safety belts.
Rear passengers who aren’t safety belted can be thrown
out of the vehicle in
a crash. And they can strike others in the vehicle who are wearing safety
belts.
Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions
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Lap-Shoulder Belt
The positions next to the windows have lap-shoulder belts. Here’s how to
wear one properly.
1. Pick up the latch
plate and pull the belt across you. Don’t let it get
twisted.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks. If the belt stops
before it reaches the buckle, tilt the latch plate and keep pulling until
you can buckle it.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
If the belt is not 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.
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.
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Shoulder Belt Height Adjuster (4-Door Utility Models)
Move the shoulder belt adjuster to the height that is right for you.
To move it down, push in at the word PRESS 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.
To unlatch the belt,
just push the button
on
the buckle.
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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 in the United
States and in every Canadian province says children up to some age must be
restrained while
in a vehicle.
Smaller Children and Babies
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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.
Keep in mind that 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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