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3. 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.
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.
5. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder belt.
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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. This is true
even with reduced-force frontal air bags. Safety
belts help keep you in position before and during
a crash.
Always wear your safety belt, even with
reduced-force air bags. The driver should sit as
far back as possible while still maintaining
control
of the vehicle, Children who
are up against, or very close to, an
air bag when it inflates can be seriously injured
or killed. This is true even though your vehicle
has reduced-force frontal air bags. Air bags plus
lap-shoulder belts offer the best protection for
adults, but not
for young children and infants,
Neither the vehicle’s safety belt system nor its
air bag system is designed for them. Young
children and infants need the protection that a
child restraint system can provide. Always secure
children properly in your vehicle.
To read how,
see the part of this manual called “Children” and
see the caution labels on the sunvisors and the
right front passenger’s safety belt.
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Page 34 of 388
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
Y
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.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Pull
up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
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Children
To make the belt shorter, pull its free end as shown until
the belt is snug.
Buckle, position and release it the same way as the lap
part
of a lap-shoulder belt. 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.
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! That includes
infants and all children smaller than adult size. Neither
the distance traveled nor the age and size
of the traveler
changes the need, for everyone, to use safety restraints.
In fact,
the law in every state in the United States and in
every Canadian province says children up to some age
must be restrained while in
a vehicle.
Smaller Children and Babies
Children who are up against, or very close to, any
air bag when it inflates can be seriously injured
or killed. This is true even though your vehicle
has reduced-force frontal air bags. Air bags plus
lap-shoulder belts offer the best protection for
adults, but not for young children and infants.
Neither the vehicle’s safety belt system nor its air
bag system is designed for them. Young children
and infants need the protection that
a child
restraint system can provide. Always secure
children properly in your vehicle.
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... ‘4 ,
Smaller children and babies should always be
restrained
in a child or infant restraint. The
instructions for the restraint will say whether it is
the right type and size for your child.
A very
young child’s hip bones are
so small that a
regular belt might not stay low on the hips, as
it
should. Instead, the belt will likely be over the
child’s abdomen.
In a crash, the belt would apply
force right
on the child’s abdomen, which could
cause serious or fatal injuries.
So, be sure that
any child small enough for one is always properly
restrained in
a child or infant restraint.
Infants need complete support, including support for the
head and neck. This
is necessary because an infant’s
neck
is weak and its head weighs so much compared
with the rest of its body.
In a crash, an infant in a
rear-facing restraint settles into the restraint,
so the crash
forces can be distributed across the strongest part
of the
infant’s body, the back and shoulders. A baby should be
secured
in an appropriate infant restraint. This is so
important that many hospitals today won’t release a
newborn infant to
its parents unless there is an
infant restraint available for the baby’s
first trip in a
motor vehicle.
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/r CAUTION:
Never hold a baby in your arms while riding in a
vehicle.
A baby doesn’t weigh much -- until a
crash. During
a crash a baby will become so
heavy you can’t hold it. For example, in a crash
CAUTION: (Continued) at
only 25 mph (40
km/h), a 12-lb. (5.5 kg) baby
will suddenly become a 240-lb. (110
kg) force on
your arms. The baby would be almost impossible
to hold.
Secure the baby in an infant restraint.
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Securing a Child in the Built-in
Child Restraint
Now that the harness is adjusted to the correct height for
your child, you’re ready to use the child restraint’s
harness (E) to secure your child.
Don’t use the vehicle’s safety belts.
Using the vehicle’s regular safety belts on a child
seated on the child restraint cushion can cause
serious injury to the child in a sudden stop or
crash.
If a child is the proper size for the built-in
child restraint, secure the child using the child
restraint’s harness. But children who are too
large for the built-in child restraint should sit on
the vehicle’s regular seat and use the regular
safety belts.
WARNING! FAILURE TO FOLLOW THE
MANUFACTURER’S INSTRUCTIONS
ON THE USE
OF THIS CHILD RESTRAINT SYSTEM CAN
RESULT IN YOUR CHILD STRIKING THE
VEHICLE’S INTERIOR DURING
A SUDDEN STOP
OR CRASH.
SNUGLY ADJUST THE BELTS PROVIDED WITH
THIS CHILD RESTRAINT
AROUND YOUR CHILD.
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4. Select only one side of the harness. Pull the lap part
of the harness out, and place the harness over the
child’s shoulder.
If both sides of the harness are pulled out, the lap
parts will lock.
If the lap parts lock, let both sides of
the harness go back all the way so each side will
move freely again. Then repeat this step, pulling
only one side of the harness out.
5. Push the latch plate (F) into the buckle until it clicks.
Be sure the buckle is free of any foreign objects that
may prevent you from securing the latch plates.
If
you can’t secure a latch plate, see your dealer for
service before using the child restraint.
6. In a single motion, pull the other side of the harness
all the way out. Keeping the harness pulled all the
way out, place it over the child’s shoulder.
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