Page 46 of 386
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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
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.
2. Push thie latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Don’t let
it get twisted.
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Page 47 of 386
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine If the belt stops before it reaches the buckle, tilt the
latch plate and keep pulling until you can buckle it.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
If the belt is not 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.
3. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end
of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder part.
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Page 48 of 386
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine The lap part of the belt should be worn low and snug on
the hips, just touching the thighs. In a crash, this applies
force to the strong pelvic bones. And you’d be less likely \
to slide under the lap belt.
If you slid under it, the belt
would apply force at your abdomen.
This could cause
serious or even fatal injuries. The shoulder belt should go
over the shoulder and across the chest. These parts of the
body are best able to take belt restraining forces.
The safety belt locks if there’s a sudden stop or a crash.
L
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.
To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
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Page 49 of 386

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Children Smaller Children and Babies
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.
b CAUTION:
I
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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Page 50 of 386

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine I A AUTION:
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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Page 55 of 386
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine L
A booster seat (F, G) is designed for children who
are about 40 to 60 lbs. (1 8 to 27 kg) and about four
to eight years of age. It’s designed to improve the
fit of the vehicle’s safety belt system. Booster seats
with shields use lap-only belts; however, booster
seats without shields use lap-shoulder belts.
Booster seats can also help
a child to see out
the window.
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Page 56 of 386

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine When choosing a child restraint, be sure the child
restraint is designed to be used in a vehicle. If it is, it
will have a label saying that it meets Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standards.
Then follow the instructions for the restraint.
You may
find these instructions on the restraint itself or in a
booklet, or both. These restraints use the belt system
in
your vehicle, but the child also has to be secured within
the restraint to help reduce the chance
of personal injury.
The instructions that come with the infant or child
restraint will show you how to do that. Both the owner’s
manual and the child restraint instructions are important,
so if either one of these is not available, obtain a
replacement copy from the manufacturer.
Where to Put the Restraint
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear rather than the front seat. We at
General Motors therefore recommend that you put your
child restraint in the rear seat.
Never put a rear-facing
child restraint in the front passenger seat.
Hc ’s why:
A CAUTION:
-
A child in a rearfacing child restraint can be
seriously injured if the right front passenger’s
air bag inflates even though your vehicle has
reduced-force frontal air bags. This is because
the back of the rearfacing child restraint would
be very close to the inflating air bag. Always
secure
a rearfacing child restraint in a rear seat.
You may secure a forward-facing child restraint
in the right front seat, but before you do, always
move the front passenger seat as far back as it
will go. It’s better to secure the child restraint in
a rear seat.
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Page 58 of 386

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine If your child restraint has a top strap, your dealer can obtain a kit with anchor hardware and installation
instructions specifically designed for this vehicle. The
dealer can then install the anchor for you.
In Canada,
this work will be done for you free of charge. Or, you
may install the anchor yourself using the instructions
provided in.the
kit.
Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear
Outside Seat Position
U
You’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt. See the earlier part
about the top strap
if the child restraint has one. Be sure
to follow the instructions that came with the child
restraint. Secure the child in the child restraint when
and
as the instructions say.
1. Put the restraint on the seat.
2. 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.
Tilt the latch plate to adjust the belt if needed.
If the shoulder belt goes in front of the child’s face or
neck, put
it behind the child restraint.
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