1997 BUICK REGAL belt

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 shoulder belt
is pulled out all the way, it will
lock. If it does, let it
go back all the way and start again.
Air Bag System
This part explains the air bag system.
Your Buick 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 injured or killed in a crash
if you aren’t wearing your safety belt
-- even if
you have air bags. Wearing your safety belt
during
a crash helps reduce your chance of
hitting things inside the vehicle or being ejected
from it. Air bags are “supplemental restraints”
to the safety belts. All air bags are designed to
work with safety belts, but don’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 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, faster 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 before and during a
crash. Always wear your safety belt, even with
air
bags. The driver should sit as far back as possible
while still maintaining control
of the vehicle.
An inflating air bag can seriously injure small
children. Always secure children 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. There is an air bag
readiness light on
the
instrument panel, which
shows the air bag symbol.
The system checks the air bag 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.
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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. Air bags supplement 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 those air
bags. 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 an air bag inflates, it quickly deflates, so
quickly that some people may not even realize the
air bag inflated. Some components of the air bag
module
-- 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
parts
of the bag that come into contact with you may
be warm, but not too hot to touch. There will be some
smoke and dust coming from vents in the deflated air
bags. Air bag inflation doesn’t prevent the driver from
seeing or from being able to steer the vehicle, nor does
it stop people from leaving the vehicle.
When an air bag inflates, there is dust in the air.
This dust could cause breathing problems for
people with a history
of asthma or other
breathing trouble.
To avoid this, everyone in the
vehicle should get out as soon as it
is safe to do so,
If you have breathing problems but can’t get out
of the vehicle after an air bag inflates, then get
fresh air by opening a window or door.
In many crashes severe enough to inflate an air bag,
windshields are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may also occur from
the right front passenger air bag.
Air bags are designed to inflate only once. After they
inflate, you’ll need some new parts for your air bag
system. If you don’t get them, the air bag system
won’t be there to help protect
you in another crash.
A new system will include air bag modules and
possibly other parts. The service manual for your
vehicle covers the need to replace other parts.
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Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing
and diagnostic module, which records information
about the air bag system. The module records
information about the readiness
of the system,
when the sensors are activated and driver’s safety
belt usage at deployment.
Let only qualified technicians work on your air
bag system. Improper service can mean that your
air bag system won’t work properly. See your
dealer for service.
NOTICE:
If you damage the covering for the driver’s or the
right front passenger’s air bag, the bag may not
work properly. You may have to replace the air
bag module in the steering wheel or both the air
bag module and the instrument panel for the
right front passenger’s air bag.
Do not open or
break the air bag coverings.
Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped Buick
Air bags affect how your Buick should be serviced.
There are parts of the air bag system in several places
around your vehicle. You don’t want the system to
inflate while someone is working on your vehicle.
Your Buick dealer and the Regal Service Manual have
information about servicing your vehicle and the air bag
system.
To purchase a service manual, see “Service and
Owner Publications” in the Index.
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For up to 10 minutes after the ignition key is
turned off and the battery is disconnected, an air
bag can still inflate during improper service. You
can be injured if you are close to an air bag when
it inflates. Avoid wires wrapped with yellow tape
or yellow connectors. They
are probably part of
the air bag system. Be sure to follow proper
service procedures, and make sure the person
performing work for you is qualified to do
so.
The air bag system does not need regular maintenance.
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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
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.
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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2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
When the shoulder belt
is pulled out all the way, it
will lock.
If it does, let it go back all the way and
start again. 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,
or if
you pull the belt very quickly out of the retractor.
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.
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To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
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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. Pull the elastic cord out from between the edge of
the seatback and
the interior body to remove the
guide from its storage clip.
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