1997 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Driver Position
This part describes the driver’s restraint system.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The driver has a lap-shoulder belt. Here’s how to
it properly.
1. Close and lock the door.
2. Adjust the seat (to see how, see “Seats’? in the
so you can sit up straight. wear
Index)
3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let it get twisted.
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. See “Lap Belt Cinch Feature” in
the Index.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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 crash.
Lap Belt Cinch Feature
If you do not want the lap belt to move freely, pull the
lap belt out all the way to set the lock. To permit the lap
belt to move freely again, unbuckle the belt, let it retract
all the way, and buckle up again.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine a 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.
Qt What’s wrong with this?
-
A: The shoulder belt is too loose. It won’t give nearly
as much protection this way.
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-. - ~~~ -----------n*>. ,-I__ --I- .. . -- ~ ., - .. . ,.. .~ ~. .. . ~. .

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Q: What’s wrong with this?
A: The belt is buckled in the wrong place.
A 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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine What’s wrong with this?
A c. 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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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine @ What’s wrong with this?
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.
A: The belt is twisted across the body.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
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.
A pregnant woman should wear a lap-shoulder belt, and
the lap portion should be worn as low as possible, below
the rounding, throughout the pregnancy.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
Passenger Position
The 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.
Air Bag System
This part explains the air bag system.
Your Corvette has two air bags
-- one air bag for the
driver and another air bag for the passenger.
Here are the most important things to know about the air
bag system:
L
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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