1997 BUICK PARK AVENUE child seat

Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
Here you’ll find information about the seats in your Buick and how to use your safety belts properly. You can also
learn about some things you should
not do with air bags and safety belts.
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1-26 Seats
and Seat Controls
Safety Belts: They’re for Everyone
Here Are Questions Many People Ask About
Safety Belts
-- and the Answers
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
Driver Position Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
Right Front Passenger Position
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)
Center Passenger Position
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1-47 Rear
Seat Passengers
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for Children
and Small Adults
Children
Child Restraints
Larger Children Safety Belt Extender
Checking Your Restraint Systems
Replacing Restraint System Parts After
a Crash
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&.’ 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 kmk).
Safety belts are for everyone.
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.
1. Close and lock the door.
2. Adjust the seat (to see how, see “Seats” in the Index)
so you can sit up straight.
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To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
Rear shoulder belt comfort guides will provide added
safety belt comfort for children who have outgrown
child restraints and for small adults. When installed
on a
shoulder belt, the
comfort guide pulls the belt away
from the neck and head. There
is
one guide for each outside passenger position in
the rear seat.
To provide added safety belt comfort for
children who have outgrown child restraints and for
smaller adults, the comfort guides may be installed
on
the shoulder belts. Here’s how to install a comfort guide
and use the safety belt:
1. Remove the guide from its storage pocket on the side
of the seatback.
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Children
4. Buckle, position and release the safety belt as
described in “Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions”
earlier in this section.
Make sure that the shoulder
belt crosses the shoulder.
To remove and store the comfort guides, squeeze the
belt edges together
so that you can take them out from
the guides. Slide the guide into its storage pocket on the
side of the seatback. 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
A CAUTION:
-
Smaller children and babies should always be
restrained in
a child or infant restraint. The
instructions 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 small that a
regular belt might not stay low on the hips,
as it
should. Instead, the belt will likely be over the
child’s abdomen. In a crash, the belt would apply
force 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 restraint.
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Child Restraints
Be sure the child restraint is designed to be used in a
vehicle. If it is, it will have a label saying that it meets
Federal Motor Vehcle Safety Standards.
Then 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. Never put a rear-facing
child restraint in the front passenger seat. Here’s why:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured if the right front passenger’s air
bag inflates. This is because the back of a
rear-facing child restraint would be very close to
the inflating air bag. Always secure
a rear-facing
child restraint
in the rear seat.
You may, however, secure a forward-facing child
restraint in the right front seat. Before you secure
a forward-facing child restraint, always move the
front passenger seat as far back as it will go. Or,
secure the child restraint in the rear seat.
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I I
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.
Top Strap
A child in a child restraint in the center front seat
can be badly injured by the right front passenger
air bag if it inflates. Never secure a child restraint
in the center front seat. It’s always better to
secure a child restraint in the rear seat. You may,
however, secure a forward-facing child restraint
in the right front passenger seat, but only with
the seat moved all the way back.
If your child restraint has a top strap, it should be
anchored.
If you need to have an anchor installed, you
can ask your Buick dealer to put it in for you. If you
want to install an anchor yourself, your dealer can tell
you how to do it.
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Canadian law requires that child restraints have a top
strap, and that the strap be anchored.
If your child restraint has a top strap, your dealer can
obtain a kit with anchor hardware and installation
instructions specifically designed for this vehicle. The
dealer can then install the anchor for you. In Canada,
this work will
be done for you free or charge. Or, you
may install the anchor yourself using the instructions
provided in the kit.
Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear
Outside Seat Position
You’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt. See the earlier part
about the top strap if the child restraint has one.
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2.
3.
Put the restraint on the seat. Follow the instructions
for the child restraint.
Secure the child in the child restraint as the
instructions say.
Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder
portions of the vehicle’s safety belt through or
around the restraint. The child restraint instructions
will show you how.
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6. To tighten the belt, pull up on the shoulder belt while
you push down on the child restraint.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle's
safety belt
and let it go back all the way. The safety belt
will move freely again
and be ready to work for an adult
or larger child passenger. directions
to be sure it is secure.
Securing a Child Restraint in the Center
Rear Seat Position
You'll be using the lap belt.
A child in a child restraint in the center front seat
can be badly injured by the right front passenger
air bag
if it inflates. Never secure a child restraint
in the center front seat. It's always better to
secure a child restraint in the rear seat. You may,
however, secure a forward-facing child restraint
in the right front passenger seat, but only with
the seat moved all the
way back.
See the earlier part about the top strap if the child
restraint has one.
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