1998 BUICK REGAL Owners Manual

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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Built-in Child Restraint (Option)
r
If your vehicle has this option, there’s a built-in child
restraint in the center rear seat position. This child
restraint system conforms to all applicable Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
This child restraint is designed for use only by children
who weigh between
22 and 60 pounds (10 and 27 kg)
and whose height is between
33.5 and 51 inches
(850 and 1 295 mm) and who are capable of sitting
upright alone.
The child should also be at least one year old. It is
important to
use a rear-facing infant restraint until the
child is about a year old.
A rear-facing restraint gives
the infant’s head, neck and body the support they would
need in a crash. See “Child Restraints” later in this
section for more information.
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With this built-in child restraint, you can adjust the
height
of the harness. Depending on the seated height
of the child, you can route it through the upper pair of
slots (A), the middle pair of slots (B) or the lower pair of
slots (C).
Q:
A:
Which slots should I use for my child?
With the child seated on the child restraint cushion,
use the pair
of slots that is at or just above the top
of the child’s shoulders.
For the child shown here, the harness should go through
the middle pair
of slots (B).
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@ What if the top of my child’s shoulders is above
the highest pair
of slots?
A: A child whose shoulders are above the highest slots
shouldn’t use this child restraint. Instead, the child
should sit on the vehicle’s seat cushion and use the
vehicle’s safety belts.
A C * “TidN:
MAKE SURE THE TOP OF THE CHILD’S
SHOULDERS
IS BELOW THE SLOTS THAT
THE HARNESS GOES THROUGH. A CHILD
WHOSE SHOULDERS ARE ABOVE THOSE
SLOTS COULD
BE INJURED DURING A
SUDDEN STOP OR CRASH. IF’ THE TOP OF
THE CHILD’S SHOULDERS IS ABOVE THE
SLOTS, DON’T
USE THIS CHILD RESTRAINT.
INSTEAD, THE CHILD SHOULD SIT ON THE
VEHICLE’S REGULAR SEAT AND USE THE
REGULAR
SAFETY BELTS.
Adjusting the Harness Height
1. Lower the child restraint cushion.
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2. If the left and right halves of the shoulder harness
clip are fastened together, separate them. 3. If the lap-shoulder harness is buckled, unlatch it by
pushing the button on the buckle.
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4. Pull down the seatback part of the pad (D). 5. Select one side of the harness. Add some slack to the
shoulder part by pulling
up on the lap part. You’ll
keep most of this slack until
you finish Step 9.
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