1998 CHEVROLET VENTURE Owners Manual

Children Sma'' -r Ch" dren and Babies
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.
' A -AUTION:
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 though 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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Smaller 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 small 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 head 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.
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. ..
Never hold a baby in your arms while riding in a
vehicle. A baby doesn’t weigh much -- until a
crash. During a crash a baby will become so
heavy you can’t hold it. For example, in a crash
CAUTION: (Continued) at
only
25 mph (40 km/h), a 12-lb. (5.5 kg) baby
will suddenly become a 240-1b. (110
kg) force on
your arms. The baby would be almost impossible
to hold.
Secure the baby in an infant restraint.
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Built-in Child Restraint (Option)
A
L
If your vehicle has this option in a bucket seat, each
bucket seat that has the built-in child restraint
fits in
only one location in your vehicle. To find out where a
bucket seat that has a built-in child restraint must be
located in your vehicle, see “Removable Rear Bucket
Seats” in the Index.
If your vehicle has this option in a
60/40 bench seat, you may have one or two built-in
child restraints. This bench seat will only fit in the
second row
of your vehicle. In both types of seats, the
built-in child restraint works the same way.
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This child restraint system conforms to all applicable
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
Each child restraint is designed for
use only by children
who weigh between
22 and 40 pounds (10 and 18 kg)
and whose height is between
33.5 and 40 inches
(850 and 1 016 mm) and who are capable of sitting
upright alone.
The child should also be at least one year old. It is
important
to use a rear-facing infant restraint until the
child
is about a year old. A rear-facing restraint gives
the infant’s head, neck and body the support they would
need in a crash. See “Child Restraints” later in this
section
for more information.
e.’ What if the top of my child’s shoulders is above
the shoulder belt slots for the five-point child
restraint harness system?
A: A child whose shoulders are above the shoulder
belt slots for the five-point child restraint harness
system shouldn’t use this child restraint. Instead,
the child should sit on the vehicle’s regular seat
cushion and use the vehicle’s adult safety belts. BEFORE
YOU USE THIS CHILD RESTRAINT,
BE SURE THE TOP
OF THE CHILD’S
SHOULDERS IS BELOW THE SLOTS THAT
THE HARNESS GOES THROUGH.
A CHILD
WHOSE SHOULDERS ARE ABOVE
THOSE
SLOTS COULD BE INJURED DURING A
SUDDEN STOP OR CRASH. IF THE TOP OF
THE CHILD’S SHOULDERS IS ABOVE THE
SLOTS, DON’T
USE THIS CHILD
RESTRAINT WHILE THE VEHICLE IS
IN MOTION.
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Securing a Child in the Built-In Child Restraint
1. Raise the head restraint until the lower edge of the
head restraint is even with the top
of the seatback.
2. Rotate the head restraint rearward until it touches the
top
of the seatback. Make sure there is no gap
between the lower edge
of the head restraint and the
top
of the seatback.
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3. Lower the child restraint cushion. You’ll be using the child restraint’s harness (A)
to secure your child. Don’t use the vehicle’s
safety belts.
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A CAUTION:
Using the vehicle’s regular safety belts on a child
seated
on the child restraint cushion can cause
serious injury to the child in a sudden stop or
crash.
If a child is the proper size for the built-in
child restraint, secure the child using the child
restraint’s harness. But children who are too
~ large for the built-in child restraint should sit on
the vehicle’s regular seat and use the vehicle’s
adult safety belts.
WARNING! FAILURE TO FOLLOW THE
MANUFACTURER’S INSTRUCTIONS ON
THE
USE OF THIS CHILD RESTRAINT SYSTEM
CAN RESULT IN YOUR CHILD STRIKING THE
VEHICLE’S INTERIOR DURING A SUDDEN
STOP OR CRASH. SNUGLY ADJUST THE
BELTS PROVIDED WITH THIS CHILD
RESTRAINT AROUND YOUR CHILD.
4. Before placing the child in the child restraint, add slack to the shoulder harness. Pull the black shoulder
harness release strap firmly.
At the same time pull
both shoulder harness straps through the slots in the seatback as shown.
5. Place the child on the child restraint cushion.
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