1997 GMC SIERRA Owners Manual

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.
&: What’s wrong with this?
A: The shoulder belt is too loose. It won’t give nearly
as much protection this way.
’ 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.
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@' What's wrong with this? 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.
A: The belt is buckled in the wrong place.
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Q: What’s wrong with this?
n
A: The belt is over an armrest.
A CAUTION:
I
You can be seriously 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.
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@ What’s wrong with this?,
A CAUTION:
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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@ What’s wrong with this?
A: The belt is twisted across the body.
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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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, ana
the lap portion should be worn as low as possible, below
the rounding, throughout
the pregnancy.
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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.
Wheri the lap belt is pulled out all the way, it will lock.
(This is the child restraint locking feature working
normally.) If the belt locks, let it
go back all the way
and start again.
Supplemental Inflatable
Restraint System
This part explains the Supplemental Inflatable Restraint
system or air bag system.
Your vehicle may have an
air bag for the driver and
another air bag for the
right front passenger. If
it does, it will say
Supplemental Inflatable
Restraint
on the middle
part of the steering wheel.
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~ Here
are the most important things to know about the air
bag system:
A CAUTION:
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 donY 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.
A CAUTION:
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.
I
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