1998 CHEVROLET EXPRESS belt

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine If it doesn’t say AIR BAG on the middle part of the
steering wheel, your vehicle doesn’t have air bags.
If your vehicle has an air bag for the driver, the air bag
is a “Next Generation’’ reduced-force frontal air bag. If
your vehicle has an air bag
for the right front passenger
and there’s a label on the driver’s side window, then
your vehicle has a “Next Generation” reduced-force
frontal air bag for the right front passenger.
If your
vehicle has an air bag for the right front passenger but
it
doesn’t have a label, then the right front passenger’s air
bag isn’t reduced-force.
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. Here
are
the most important things to know about the air
bag system:
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 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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
If your vehicle has an air bag for the right front
passenger, please read this:
r
A CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to,
an air bag when it inflates can be seriously
injured or killed. This is true even
if your vehicle
has reduced-force frontal air bags. Air bags plus
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
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.
AIR
BAG
There is an air bag readiness
light on the instrument panel,
which shows
AIR BAG.
The system checks the
air bag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells
you if there is an electrical
problem. See “Air Bag Readiness Light” in the Index
for more information.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine How does an air bag restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or the instrument panel. Air bags supplement the protection
provided by safety belts.
Air bags distribute the force of
the impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper body, stopping the occupant more gradually. But
air bags would
not help you in many types of collisions, including
rollovers, rear impacts and side impacts, primarily because
an occupant’s motion is not toward those air bags. Air
bags should never be regarded as anything more than a supplement to safety belts, and then only
in moderate to
severe frontal or near-frontal collisions.
What will you see after an air bag inflates?
After an air bag inflates, it quickly deflates, so quickly
that some people may not even realize the air bag
inflated. Some components
of the air bag module -- the
steering wheel hub for
the driver’s air bag, or the
instrument panel for the right front passenger’s
bag
-- will be hot for a short time. The parts of the bag
that come into contact with you may be warm, but
not
too hot to touch. There will be some smoke and dust
coming from vents in the deflated air bags. Air bag
inflation doesn’t prevent the driver from seeing or from
being able
to steer the vehicle, nor does it stop people
from leaving the vehicle.
When an air bag inflates, there is dust in the air.
This dust could cause breathing problems for people with a history of asthma or other
breathing trouble.
To avoid this, everyone in the
vehicle should get out as soon as
it is safe to do so.
If you have breathing problems but can’t get out
of the vehicle after an air bag inflates, then get
fresh air by opening a window or door.
Air bags are designed to inflate only once. After they
inflate, you’ll need some new parts for your air bag
system. If you don’t get them, the air bag system
won’t be there to help protect you in another crash.
A new system will include air bag modules and
possibly other parts. The service manual for your
vehicle covers
the need to replace other parts.
Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing and
diagnostic module, which records information about
the
air bag system. The module records information
about the readiness
of the system, when the sensors are
activated and driver’s safety belt usage at deployment.

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.
Don’t let
it get twisted.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Pull up on the latch plate
to make sure it is secure.
When the shoulder belt is pulled out all
the way, it
will lock. If it does, let it go back all the way and
start again.
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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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.
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.
h
To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for Children and Small Adults
Your vehicle may have rear shoulder belt comfort guides.
This feature will provide added safety belt comfort for
children who have outgrown child restraints and for small
adults. When installed on a shoulder belt, the comfort
guide pulls the belt away from the neck and head.
There is one guide for each outside passenger position in
the rear seats.
To provide added safety belt comfort for
children who have outgrown child restraints and for
smaller adults, the comfort guides may be installed on
the shoulder belts. Here’s how
to install a comfort guide
and use the safety belt:
1. Remove the guide from its storage clip on the side of
the seatback.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 2. Slide the guide under and past the belt. The elastic
cord must be under the belt. Then, place the guide
over the belt, and insert the two edges
of the belt into
the slots
of the guide.
3. Be sure that the belt is not twisted and it lies flat.
The elastic cord must be under the belt and the guide
on top.
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