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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 lap 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.If your vehicle has a center passenger position,
be sure to use the correct buckle when buckling your
lap
-shoulder belt. If you find that the latch plate will not
go fully into the buckle, see if you are using the buckle
for the center passenger position.
Air Bag Systems
This part explains the frontal and side impact
air bag systems.
Your vehicle has four air bags
-- a frontal air bag
for the driver, another frontal air bag for the right front
passenger, a side impact air bag for the driver, and
another side impact air bag for the right front passenger.
Frontal air bags are designed to help reduce the risk of
injury from the force of an inflating frontal air bag. But
these air bags must inflate very quickly to do their job
and comply with federal regulations.
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5. Pull the rest of the lap belt all the way out of the
retractor to set the lock.6. To tighten the belt, feed the lap belt back into the
retractor while you push down on the child restraint.
You may find it helpful to use your knee to push
down on the child restraint as you tighten the belt.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle's
safety belt and let it go back all the way. The safety belt
will move freely again and be ready to work for an adult
or larger child passenger.
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Door Locks
CAUTION:
Unlocked doors can be dangerous.
Passengers -- especially children -- can easily
open the doors and fall out. When a door is
locked, the inside handle won't open it.
Outsiders can easily enter through an unlocked
door when you slow down or stop your vehicle.
This may not be so obvious: You increase the
chance of being thrown out of the vehicle in a
crash if the doors aren't locked. Wear safety belts
properly, lock your doors, and you will be far
better off whenever you drive your vehicle.
There are several ways to lock and unlock your vehicle.
From the outside, use your door key or remote keyless
entry transmitter. With your door key, turning the key
toward the front of the vehicle will lock the door.
Turning the key toward the rear of the vehicle will
unlock it.If your vehicle has a content theft
-deterrent system,
unlock the doors only with the key or remote keyless
entry system. This will avoid setting off the alarm.
To unlock the door from the inside, move the manual
door lock control located above the door handle
rearward. To lock the door, move the manual door lock
control forward.
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If you have Stabilitrak, to help you steer in the
direction you want to go, during certain sharp or sudden
cornering maneuvers, gear selection is controlled. This
will maximize the available drive wheel torque and
minimize the transaxle response time and shift activity.
During this kind of maneuver, the transaxle shifts
automatically as vehicle speed changes.
Steering in Emergencies
There are times when steering can be more effective than
braking. For example, you come over a hill and find a
truck stopped in your lane, or a car suddenly pulls out
from nowhere, or a child darts out from between parked
cars and stops right in front of you. You can avoid these
problems by braking
-- if you can stop in time. But
sometimes you can't; there isn't room. That's the time for
evasive action
-- steering around the problem.
Your vehicle can perform very well in emergencies like
these. First apply your brakes. (See ªBraking in
Emergenciesº earlier in this section.) It is better to
remove as much speed as you can from a possible
collision. Then steer around the problem, to the left or
right depending on the space available.
An emergency like this requires close attention and a
quick decision. If you are holding the steering wheel at
the recommended 9 and 3 o'clock positions, you can
turn it a full 180 degrees very quickly without removing
either hand. But you have to act fast, steer quickly, and
just as quickly straighten the wheel once you have
avoided the object.
The fact that such emergency situations are always
possible is a good reason to practice defensive driving at
all times and wear safety belts properly.