1998 CADILLAC ELDORADO Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Center Passenger Position Lap Belt
When you sit in the center seating position, you have a
lap safety belt, which has no retractor. To make the belt
longer, tilt
the latch plate and pull it along the belt.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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
I A CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to, an
air bag when
it inflates can be seriously injured
or killed. Air bags plus lap-shoulder belts offer
the best protection for adults and older children,
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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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine I
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I A CAUTION:
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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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine I CAUTION: (Continued) I
at only 25 mph (40 km/h), a 12-1b. (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.
A 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)
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Child Restraints
Every time infants and young children ride in
vehicles, they should have protection provided by
appropriate restraints.
Q: What are the different types of add-on
child restraints?
A: Add-on child restraints are available in four basic
types. When selecting
a child restraint, take into
consideration not
only the child’s weight and size.
but also whether
or not the restraint will be
compatible with the motor vehicle
in which it will
be used.
An infant car bed
(A) is a special bed made for use
in a motor vehicle. It’s an infant restraint system
designed to restrain or position a child on a
continuous flat surface.
With an infant car bed,
make sure that the infant’s head rests toward the
center of the vehicle.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine YX
A rear-facing infant restraint (B) positions an infant
to face the rear of the vehcle. Rear-facing infant
restraints are designed for infants of up to about
20 lbs. (9 kg) and about one year of age. This type of
restraint faces the rear so that the infant's head. neck
and body can have the
support they need in a crash.
Some &ant seats
come in two parts -- the base stays
secured
in the vehicle and the seat part is removable.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine A forward-facing child restraint (C-E) positions a
child upright to face forward in the vehicle. These
forward-facing restraints are designed to help protect
children
who are from 20 to 40 Ibs. (9 to 18 kg) and
about
26 to 40 inches (66 to 102 cm) in height, or up
to around four years of age. One type, a convertible
restraint. is designed
to be used either as a rear-facing
infant seat or a forward-facing child seat.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine A booster seat (F, G) is designed for children who are
abut 40 to 60 lbs. (18 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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