1998 CHEVROLET EXPRESS Owners Manual

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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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 4. Buckle, position and release the safety belt as
described in
“Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions’’
earlier in this section. Make sure that the shoulder
belt crosses the shoulder.
To remove and store the comfort guides, squeeze the
belt edges together
so that you can take them out from
the guides. Slide the guide onto the storage clip.
Center
Passenger Position
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Lap Belt
If your vehicle has rear bench seats, someone can sit in
the center positions.
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,
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.
When you
sit
in a center seating position, you have a lap see ‘‘safety Belt Extendef’ at the end of this section.
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
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 (Except Cargo
Vans with Passenyr Air
Bags)
A 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
if 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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