1998 GMC SAVANA Owners Manual

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 Passenger Air Bags)
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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A CAUTION:
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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A CAUTION: I
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)
I
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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Smaller Children and Babies (Cargo Vans
with Passenger Air Bags)
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.
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. Smaller children
and babies should always be restrained in a child
restraint. However, infants, who should be
restrained in a rear-facing child restraint, cannot
ride safely in this vehicle. The instructions for the
restraint will say whether it
is the right type and
size for your child.
If a forward-facing child
restraint is suitable for your child, be sure the
child is always properly restrained while riding in
this vehicle.
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A CAUTION:
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
at only 25 mph (40 km/h), a 12=1b, (5.5 kg) baby
will suddenly become a 240-lb.
(110 kg) force on
your arms. The baby would be almost impossible
to hold,
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Child Restraints
Every time infants and young children ride in
vehicles, they should have protection provided
by appropriate restraints.
@ What are the different types of add-on
A: Add-on child restraints are available in four basic
types. When selecting a child restraint, take into
consideration not only the child’s weight and size,
but also whether or not
the restraint will be
compatible with the motor vehicle in which it will
be used.
child restraints?
An infant car bed (A) is a special bed made for use
in a motor vehicle. It’s an infant restraint system
designed to restrain or position a child on a
continuous flat surface. With an infant car bed,
make sure that the infant’s head rests toward
the
center of the vehicle.
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A rear-facing infant restraint (B) positions an infant
to face the rear of the vehicle. Rear-facing infant
restraints are designed for infants
of up to about
20 lbs. (9 kg) and about one year of age. This type
of restraint faces the rear
so that the infant’s head,
neck and body can have the support they need in a
crash. Some infant seats come in two
parts -- the
base stays secured in the vehicle and the seat part
is removable.
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, . ..
A forward-facing child restraint (C-E) positions a
child upright to face forward in the vehicle. These
forward-facing restraints are designed to help protect
children
who are from 20 to 40 lbs. (9 to 18 kg) and
about
26 to 40 inches (66 to 102 cm) in height, or up
to around four years of age. One type, a convertible
restraint,
is designed to be used either as a rear-facing
infant seat or a forward-facing child seat.
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