1997 PONTIAC PONTIAC Owners Manual

4. Run the vehicle’s safety belt through or around the
restraint. The child restraint instructions will show
you how.
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.
6. To tighten the belt, pull its free end while you push
down on the child restraint.
7, Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it
is secure. If it isn’t, secure the
restraint in a different place in the vehicle and
contact the child restraint maker for
their advice
about how to attach the child restraint properly.
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle’s
safety belt. It will be ready
to work for an adult or larger
child passenger.
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Securing a Child Restraint in the Right
Front Seat Position
Y
Your vehicle has a right front passenger air bag. Never
put a rear-facing child restraint in this 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 rearfacing
child restraint
in the rear seat.
You’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt. See the earlier part
about the top strap if the child restraint has one.
1.. Because your vehicle has a right front passenger air
bag, always move the s’eat as far back as it will go
before securing a forward-facing child restraint.
(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.
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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.
6, Pull the rest of the shoulder belt all the way out of
the retractor to set the lock.
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into
Larger Children
7. To tighten the belt, feed the shoulder belt back
the retractor while
you push down on the child
restraint.
8. Push and pull the child restraint in different
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. 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.
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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 in
a crash.
0 Children who aren’t buckled up can strike other
people who
are.
Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same
belt. The
b’elt 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.
Q.” 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 sitting in a rear seat outside position, see
“Rear Safety Belt
Comfort Guides” in the Index. If
the child is sitting in a rear outside position of a
four-door model, see “Rear Safety Belt
Comfort
Guides” in the Index. 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 the center
seat position, the one that has only
a lap belt.
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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.
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Safety Belt Extender
If the vehicle’s safety belt will fasten around you, you
should use it.
But
if a safety belt isn’t long enough to fasten, your
dealer will order you an extender. It’s free. When you
go
in to order it, take the heaviest coat you will wear, so the
extender will be long enough for you. The extender will
be just for you, and just for the seat in your vehicle that
you choose. Don’t let someone else use it, and use it
only for the seat it is made to fit. To wear it, just attach it
to the regular safety belt.
Checking Your Restraint Systems
Now and then, make sure the safety belt reminder light
and all your belts, buckles, latch plates, retractors and
anchorages are working properly.
If your vehicle has a
built-in child restraint, also periodically make sure the
harness straps, latch plates, buckle, clip, retractors and
anchorages are working properly.
Look for any other
loose or damaged safety belt and built-in child restraint
system parts. If you see anything that might keep a
safety belt or built-in child restraint system from doing
its job, have it repaired.
Torn or frayed safety belts may not protect you in a
crash. They can rip apart under impact forces.
If a belt is
torn or frayed, get a new one right away.
If your vehicle has the built-in child restraint, torn or
frayed harness straps can rip apart under impact forces
just like torn or frayed safety belts can. They may not
protect a child in a crash.
If a harness strap is torn or
frayed, get a new harness right away.
Also look for any opened or broken air bag covers, and
have them repaired or replaced.
(The air bag system
does not need regular maintenance.)
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Replacing Restraint System Parts
After a Crash
If you’ve had a crash, do you need new safety belts or
built-in child restraint parts?
After a very minor collision, nothing may be necessary.
But if the safety belts
or built-in child restraint harness
straps were stretched,
as they would be if worn during a
more severe crash, then you need new safety belts or
harness
straps.
If safety belts or built-in child restraint harness straps
are cut
or darnaged, replace them. Collision damage also
may mean you will need to have safety belt, built-in
child restraint or seat parts repaired or replaced. New
parts and repairs may be necessary even if the safety belt
or built-in child restraint wasn’t beine used at the time
of the collision.
If an air bag inflates, you’ll need to replace ais bag
system parts. See the part on the air bag system earlier
in this section.
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