1998 CHEVROLET BLAZER Owners Manual

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 crash,
or if you pull the belt
very quickly out of the retractor.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine What’s wrong with this?
A: The shoulder belt is too loose. It won’t give nearly
as much protection this way.
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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine @ What’s wrong with this?
I I I I I 1 I I 1
A: The belt is buckled in the wrong place.
[ON:
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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine @ What's wrong with this?
r'
23
A: The shoulder belt is worn under the arm. It should
be
worn over the shoulder at all times.
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.
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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.
A: The belt is twisted across the body.
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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.
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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” earlier in
this section.
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 shoulder 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) System
This part explains the Supplemental Inflatable Restraint
(SIR) system or air bag system.
Your vehicle has “Next Generation” reduced-force
frontal air bags
-- one air bag for the driver and another
air bag for the right front passenger.
Reduced-force frontal air bags are designed to help
reduce the risk of injury from the force
of an inflating
air bag. But even these air bags must inflate very
quickly
if they are to do their job and comply with
federal regulations.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Here are the most important things to know about the air
bag system:
YOI :an be severely i: - !d or killed in a cr; I 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 reduced-force air
bags
-- are designed to work with safety belts,
but don’t replace them.
Air bags 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, reduced-force air bags
may provide less protection in frontal crashes
than more forceful air bags have provided in the
past. Everyone in your vehicle should wear a
safety belt properly
-- whether or not there’s an
air bag for that person.
CAUTION:
I
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.
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