1998 CHEVROLET TRACKER belt

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.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The rear seats 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.
The shoulder belt may lock if you pull the belt across
you very quickly. If this happens, let the belt
go back
slightly to unlock it. Then pull the belt across you
more slowly.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Pull
up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
1-32

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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. 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.
1-33

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine The safety belt locks if there’s a sudden stop or a crash,
or if you pull the belt very quickly out of the retractor.
I A CAUTION:
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.
To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
1-34

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
A CAUTION:
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.
1-35
.- -

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine I
SwaIler 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
mall 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 fiead 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.
1-36

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine A booster seat (F, G) is designed for children
who are about
40 to 60 lbs. (1 8 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.
1-41

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine When choosing a child restraint, be sure the child
restraint
is designed to be used in a vehicle. If it is, it
will
have a label saying that it meets Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standards.
Then follow the instructions for the restraint. You
may
find these instructions on the restraint itself or in a
booklet, or both. These restraints use the belt system in
your vehicle, but
the child also has to be secured within
the restraint to help reduce the chance of personal injury.
The instructions that
come with the infant or child
restraint will show you how
to do that. Both the owner’s
manual and the child restraint instructions are important,
so if either one of these is not available, obtain a
replacement copy from the manufacturer.
Where to Put the Restraint
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear rather than the front seat. We at
General Motors therefore recommend that you put your
child restraint in the rear seat.
Never put a rear-facing
child restraint in the front passenger seat. Here’s why:
A child in a rearfacing child restraint can be
seriously injured
if the right front passenger’s air
bag inflates, even if your vehicle has
reduced-force frontal
air bags. This is because
the back
of a rearfacing child restraint would be
very close to the inflating air bag. Always secure
a rearfacing child restraint in the rear seat.
You may, however, secure
a forward-facing child
restraint in the right front seat, but before you
do, always move the front passenger seat as far
back as it will go.
It is better to secure the child
restraint in
a rear seat.
Wherever you install it, be sure to secure the child
restraint properly. Keep
in mind that an unsecured child restraint can move
around
in a collision or sudden stop and injure people in
the vehicle. Be sure to properly secure any child
restraint
in your vehicle -- even when no child is in it.
1-42

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear
Seat Position
You’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt. See the earlier part
about the top strap if the child restraint has one. Be sure
to follow the instructions that came with the child
restraint. Secure the child in the child restraint when and
as the instructions say.
1. Put the restraint on the seat.
2. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder
portions of the vehicle’s safety belt through or
around the restraint. The child restraint instructions
will show
you how.
3. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button is
positioned so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly
if you ever had to.
If the shoulder belt goes in front
of the child’s face or
neck, put it behind the child restraint.
1-44