1997 GMC SIERRA Owners Manual

Securing a Child Restraint in the Right
Front Seat Position (Except Crew Cab)
If your vehicle has air bags, there is a switch on the
instrument panel that you can use to turn
off the right
front passenger's air bag. But use this switch only when
you want to secure a rear-facing child restraint at the
right front passenger's position.
I
A child in a rearfacing 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.
CAUTION: (Continued)
1-57
ProCarManuals.com

I
CAUTION: (Continu
Be sure to turn
off the air bag before using a
rear-facing child restraint in the right front
seat position. To turn
off the right
front passenger’s air bag, insert
your ignition key
into the switch, push in, and move
the switch to AIR BAG OFF.
The AIR BAG OFF light will come on to let you know
that the right front passenger’s air bag is off. The right
front passenger’s air bag will remain
off until you turn it
back on again, and
the AIR BAG OFF light will stay on
to remind you that the air bag is off.
A CAUTdN:
If the air bag readiness light ever comes on when
you have turned
off the air bag, it means that
something may be wrong with the air bag system.
The right front passenger’s air bag could inflate
even though the switch
is off. If this ever
happens, don’t secure
a rear-facing child
restraint in your vehicle until you have your
vehicle serviced.
I
1-58
ProCarManuals.com

You’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt. See the earlier part
about the top strap
if the child restraint has one.
1. If your vehicle has air bags and you are using a
rear-facing child restraint in this seat, make sure
the
air bag is turned off. If your child restraint is
forward-facing, always
move the seat as far back as
it will go before securing it in this seat. (See “Seats”
in the Index.)
2. Put the restraint on the seat. Follow the instructions
for the child restraint.
3. Secure the child in the child restraint as the
instructions
say.
4. 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.
If the shoulder belt goes in front of the child’s face
or neck, put it behind the child restraint.
5. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button is
positioned
so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly if you ever had to.
1-59
ProCarManuals.com

6. Pull the rest of the lap belt all the way out of the
retractor to set the lock.
7. To tighten the belt, feed the lap belt back into the
8. Push and pull the child restraint in different
retractor while
you push down
on the child restraint.
directions to be sure
it is secure.
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.
1-60
ProCarManuals.com

If your vehicle has air bags, turn on the right front
passenger’s air bag when you remove the rear-facing
child restraint.
. : . ..
To turn the air bag on again, insert your ignition key
into the switch, push in, and move the switch to the
ON position.
I /I CAUTION:
If the right front passenger’s air bag is turned
off, an adult or a child who is no longer an infant
sitting in the right front passenger’s position
won’t have the extra protection of an
air bag. In
a crash, the air bag wouldn’t be able to inflate
and help protect the person sitting there. Make sure the air bag
is turned on unless you are
using
a rear-facing child restraint in the right
front seat position.
1-61
ProCarManuals.com

Larger Children
Children who have outgrown child restraints should
wear
the vehicle’s safety belts.
If you have the choice, a child should sit next to a
window
so the child can wear a lap-shoulder belt and
get
the additional restraint a shoulder belt can provide.
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained
in the rear seat. But they need to use the
safety belts properly.
Children who aren’t buckled up can be thrown out
Children who aren’t buckled up can strike other
in a crash.
people who are.
1-62
ProCarManuals.com

I Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same belt. The
belt can’t properly spread the impact forces.
In a
crash, the two children can be crushed together
and seriously injured.
A belt must be used by
only one person
at a time.
What if
a child is wearing a lap-shoulder belt,
but the child is
so small that the shoulder belt is
very close to the child’s face or neck?
A: Move the child toward the center of the vehicle, but
be sure that the shoulder belt still is on the child’s
shoulder,
so that in a crash the child’s upper body
would have the restraint that belts provide.
If the
child is
so small that the shoulder belt is still very
close to the child’s face
or neck, you might want to
place
the child in a seat that has a lap belt, if your
vehicle has
one.
ProCarManuals.com

Never do this.
Here a child is sitting in a seat that has a
lap-shoulder belt, but the shoulder part
is behind
the child.
If the child wears the belt in this way, in
a crash the child might slide under the belt. The
belt’s force would then be applied right on the
child’s abdomen. That could cause serious or
fatal injuries.
Wherever the child sits, the
lap portion of the belt
should be worn
low and snug on the hips, just touching
the child’s thighs. This applies belt force to the child’s
pelvic bones
in a crash.
1-64
ProCarManuals.com