1999 PONTIAC GRAND AM child restraint

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Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
Here you'll find information about the seats in your Pontiac and how to use your safety belts properly. You can also
learn about some things you should not do with air bags and safety belts.
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-2 Seats and Seat Controls
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-8 Safety Belts: They're for Everyone
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-12 Here Are Questions Many People Ask About
Safety Belts
-- and the Answers
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-13 How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
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-13 Driver Position
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-21 Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
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-22 Right Front Passenger Position
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-22 Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)
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-29 Rear Seat Passengers1
-32 Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
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-35 Center Passenger Position
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-36 Children
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-39 Child Restraints
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-51 Larger Children
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-54 Safety Belt Extender
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-54 Checking Your Restraint Systems
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-54 Replacing Restraint System Parts After
a Crash

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Q:If I'm a good driver, and I never drive far from
home, why should I wear safety belts?
A:You may be an excellent driver, but if you're in an
accident
-- even one that isn't your fault -- you and
your passengers can be hurt. Being a good driver
doesn't protect you from things beyond your
control, such as bad drivers.
Most accidents occur within 25 miles (40 km) of
home. And the greatest number of serious injuries
and deaths occur at speeds of less than 40 mph
(65 km/h).
Safety belts are for everyone.
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
Adults
This part is only for people of adult size.
Be aware that there are special things to know about safety
belts and children. And there are different rules for smaller
children and babies. If a child will be riding in your
vehicle, see the part of this manual called ªChildren.º
Follow those rules for everyone's protection.
First, you'll want to know which restraint systems your
vehicle has.
We'll start with the driver position.
Driver Position
This part describes the driver's restraint system.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The driver has a lap-shoulder belt. Here's how to wear
it properly.
1. Close and lock the door.
2. Adjust the seat (to see how, see ªSeatsº in the Index)
so you can sit up straight.

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CAUTION:
Air bags inflate with great force, faster than the
blink of an eye. If you're too close to an inflating
air bag, as you would be if you were leaning
forward, it could seriously injure you. This is true
even with Next Generation frontal air bags.
Safety belts help keep you in position before and
during a crash. Always wear your safety belt,
even with Next Generation air bags. The driver
should sit as far back as possible while still
maintaining control of the vehicle.
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 though your vehicle
has Next Generation 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.
To read how, see the part of this manual called
ªChildrenº and see the caution labels on the
sunvisors and the right front passenger's
safety belt.

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To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
Rear shoulder belt comfort guides 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 seat. 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:

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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,
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.
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
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 though your vehicle
has Next Generation 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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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 frontal 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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Child Restraints
Every time infants and young children ride in
vehicles, they should have protection provided by
appropriate restraints.
Q:What are the different types of add-on
child restraints?
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.
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 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.