1998 CADILLAC SEVILLE Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Shoulder Belt Height Adjuster
When you move a front seat head restraint, the shoulder
belt height changes. See “Head Restraints’’ in the Index.
@ What’s wrong with this?
A: The shoulder belt is too loose. It won’t give nearly
as much protection this way.
uu
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.
1-14

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine What's wrong with this?
A: The belt is buckled in the wrong place.
' A CAUTION:
You can be seriously injured if your belt is
buckled in the wrong place like this. In a crash,
the belt would
go up over your abdomen. The
belt forces would be there, not at the pelvic
bones. This could cause serious internal
injuries. Always buckle your belt into the buckle
nearest you.
I

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine @ What’s wrong with this?
I
You can be seriously injured if you wear the
shoulder belt under your arm.
In a crash, your
body would move
too far forward, which would
increase the chance of head and neck injury.
Also, the belt would apply too much force to the
ribs, which aren’t as strong
as shoulder bones.
You could also severely injure internal organs
like your liver or spleen.
A: The shoulder belt is worn under the arm. It should
be
worn over the shoulder at all times.
1-16

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine What’s wrong with this? You can be seriously injured by a twisted belt.
In
a crash, you wouldn’t have the full width of the
belt to spread impact forces.
If a belt is twisted,
make it straight
so it can work properly, or ask
your dealer to fix it. 1
I
A: The belt is twisted across the body.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
The belt should go back out of the way.
Before you close the door, be sure the belt is out of the
way.
If you slam the door on it, you can damage both the
belt and your vehicle.
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
Safety belts work for everyone, including pregnant
women. Like
all occupants, they are more likely to be
seriously injured if they don’t wear safety belts.
A pregnant woman should wear a lap-shoulder belt, and
the lap
portion should be worn as low as possible, below
the rounding, throughout the pregnancy.
1-18

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine The best way to protect the fetus is to protect the
mother. When a safety belt is worn properly, it’s more
likely that the fetus won’t be hurt in a crash. For
pregnant women, as for anyone, the key to making
safety belts effective
is wearing them properly.
Right Front Passenger Position
To learn how to wear the right front passenger’s safety
belt properly, see “Driver Position” in the Index.
The right front passenger’s safety belt works the same
way as the driver’s safety belt
-- except for one thing. If
you ever pull the lap portion of the belt out all the way,
you will engage the child restraint locking feature. If
this happens, just let the belt go back all the way and
start again.
Supplemental Inflatable Restraint
(SIR) Systems
This part explains the frontal and side impact
Supplemental Inflatable Restraint (SIR) systems or air
bag systems.
Your vehicle has four air bags -- a “Next Generation”
frontal air bag for the driver, another “Next Generation”
frontal air bag for the right front passenger, a side
impact air bag for the driver, and another side impact air
bag for the right front passenger. Next Generation
frontal air bags are designed to help reduce the risk of
injury from the force of an inflating frontal air bag. But
even these air bags must inflate very quickly if they
are
to do their job and comply with federal regulations.
1-19

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Here are the most important things to know about the air
bag systems:
A CAUTION:
- - -
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash if
you aren’t wearing your safety belt -- even if you
have
air bags. Wearing your safety belt during a
crash helps reduce your chance of hitting things
inside the vehicle or being ejected from
it. Air
bags are “supplemental restraints” to the safety
belts. All
air bags -- even Next Generation air
bags -- are designed to work with safety belts but
don’t replace them.
CAUTION: (Continued)
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Next Generation frontal air bags for the driver
and right front passenger are designed to work
only in moderate to severe crashes where the
front of your vehicle hits something. They aren’t
designed to inflate at all in rollover, rear, side or
low-speed frontal crashes. And, for unrestrained
occupants, Next Generation frontal air bags may
provide less protection in frontal crashes than
more forceful air bags have provided in the past.
The side impact air bags for the driver and right
front passenger are designed to inflate
only in
moderate to severe crashes where something hits
the side of your vehicle. They aren’t designed to
inflate in frontal, in rollover or in rear crashes.
Everyone in your vehicle should wear a safety
belt properly
-- whether or not there’s an air bag
for that person.
1-20

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine I A CAUTION:
A- I
Both frontal and side impact 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 Next
Generation frontal air bags. Safety belts help
keep you in position for
air bag inflation before
and during
a crash. Always wear your safety belt,
even with Next Generation frontal
air bags. The
driver should
sit as far back as possible while still
maintaining control of the vehicle. Front
occupants should not lean on or sleep against
the door.
1
A C * “TION:
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 Next Generation 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.