1999 CADILLAC CATERA Owners Manual

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4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
If the belt isn't long enough, see ªSafety Belt
Extenderº 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.
5. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder belt.
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 crash, or
if you pull the belt very quickly out of the retractor.

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Shoulder Belt Height Adjuster
Before you begin to drive, move the shoulder belt
adjuster to the height that is right for you.To move it down, press down on the arrow symbol and
move the height adjuster to the desired position. You can
move the adjuster up just by pushing up on the bottom
of the height adjuster. After you move the adjuster to
where you want it, try to move it down without pushing
in to make sure it has locked into position.
Adjust the height so that the shoulder portion of the
belt is centered on your shoulder. The belt should be
away from your face and neck, but not falling off
your shoulder.

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Q:What's wrong with this?
A:The shoulder belt is too loose. It won't give nearly
as much protection this way.
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.

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Q:What's wrong with this?
A:The belt is buckled in the wrong place.
CAUTION:
You can be seriously injured if your belt is
buckled in the wrong place like this. In a crash,
the belt would go up over your abdomen. The
belt forces would be there, not at the pelvic
bones. This could cause serious internal injuries.
Always buckle your belt into the buckle
nearest you.

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Q:What's wrong with this?
A:The shoulder belt is worn under the arm. It should
be worn over the shoulder at all times.
CAUTION:
You can be seriously injured if you wear the
shoulder belt under your arm. In a crash, your
body would move too far forward, which would
increase the chance of head and neck injury.
Also, the belt would apply too much force to the
ribs, which aren't as strong as shoulder bones.
You could also severely injure internal organs
like your liver or spleen.

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Q:What's wrong with this?
A:The belt is twisted across the body.
CAUTION:
You can be seriously injured by a twisted belt. In
a crash, you wouldn't have the full width of the
belt to spread impact forces. If a belt is twisted,
make it straight so it can work properly, or ask
your dealer to fix it.

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To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
The belt should go back out of the way.
Before you close the door, be sure the belt is out of the
way. If you slam the door on it, you can damage both the
belt and your vehicle.
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
Safety belts work for everyone, including pregnant
women. Like all occupants, they are more likely to be
seriously injured if they don't wear safety belts.
A pregnant woman should wear a lap-shoulder belt, and
the lap portion should be worn as low as possible, below
the rounding, throughout the pregnancy.

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The best way to protect the fetus is to protect the
mother. When a safety belt is worn properly, it's more
likely that the fetus won't be hurt in a crash. For
pregnant women, as for anyone, the key to making
safety belts effective is wearing them properly.
Right Front Passenger Position
To learn how to wear the right front passenger's safety belt
properly, see ªDriver Positionº earlier in this section.
The right front passenger's safety belt works the same
way as the driver's safety belt
-- except for one thing. If
you ever pull the shoulder portion of the belt out all the
way, you will engage the child restraint locking feature.
If this happens, just let the belt go back all the way and
start again.
Air Bag Systems
This part explains the frontal and side impact air
bag systems.
Your vehicle has air bags
-- a ªNext Generationº frontal
air bag for the driver and another ªNext Generationº
frontal air bag for the right front passenger. Your vehicle
may also have side impact air bags
-- a side impact air
bag for the driver and another side impact air bag for the
right front passenger.
If your vehicle has side
impact air bags, it will say
AIRBAG on the air bag
covering on the side of the
driver's and right front
passenger's seatback closest
to the door.
Next Generation frontal air bags are designed to help
reduce the risk of injury from the force of an inflating
frontal air bag. But even these air bags must inflate very
quickly if they are to do their job and comply with
federal regulations.