2001 CADILLAC DEVILLE Rear ac

1-38
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
Rear shoulder belt comfort guides will provide added
safety belt comfort for older children who have
outgrown booster seats and for small adults. When
installed on a shoulder belt, the comfort guide better
positions 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:
1. Remove the guide from its storage pocket on the top
of the seatback.

1-40
4. Buckle, position and release the safety belt as
described in ªRear Seat Passenger Positionsº earlier
in this section. Make sure that the shoulder belt
crosses the shoulder.
To remove and store the comfort guides, squeeze the
belt edges together so that you can take them out from
the guides. Slide the guide into its storage pocket on the
top of the seatback.
Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! This includes
infants and all other children. 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.
Infants and Young Children
Every time infants and young children ride in vehicles,
they should have the protection provided by the
appropriate restraint. Young children should not use
the vehicle's safety belts, unless there is no other choice.

1-43
CAUTION:
Newborn infants need complete support,
including support for the head and neck. This
is necessary because a newborn 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 seat settles into the restraint, so
the crash forces can be distributed across the
strongest part of an infant's body, the back and
shoulders. Infants always should be secured in
appropriate infant restraints.
CAUTION:
The body structure of a young child is quite
unlike that of an adult or older child, for whom
the safety belts are designed. A young child's hip
bones are still so small that vehicle's regular
safety belt may not remain low on the hip bones,
as it should. Instead, it may settle up around the
child's abdomen. In a crash, the belt would apply
force on a body area that's unprotected by any
bony structure. This alone could cause serious
or fatal injuries. Young children always should
be secured in appropriate child restraints.

1-44
Restraint Systems for Children
An infant car bed (A), a special bed made for use in a
motor vehicle, is an infant restraint system designed to
restrain or position a child on a continuous flat surface.
Make sure that the infant's head rests toward the center
of the vehicle.
A rear-facing infant seat (B) provides restraint with
the seating surface against the back of the infant. The
harness system holds the infant in place and, in a crash,
acts to keep the infant positioned in the restraint.

1-46
Q:How do child restraints work?
A:A child restraint system is any device designed for
use in a motor vehicle to restrain, seat, or position
children. A built
-in child restraint system is a
permanent part of the motor vehicle. An add
-on
child restraint system is a portable one, which is
purchased by the vehicle's owner.
For many years, add
-on child restraints have
used the adult belt system in the vehicle. To help
reduce the chance of injury, the child also has to
be secured within the restraint. The vehicle's belt
system secures the add
-on child restraint in the
vehicle, and the add
-on child restraint's harness
system holds the child in place within the restraint.
One system, the three
-point harness, has straps
that come down over each of the infant's shoulders
and buckle together at the crotch. The five
-point
harness system has two shoulder straps, two hip
straps and a crotch strap. A shield may take the
place of hip straps. A T
-shaped shield has shoulder
straps that are attached to a flat pad which rests low
against the child's body. A shelf
- or armrest-type
shield has straps that are attached to a wide,
shelf
-like shield that swings up or to the side.When choosing a child restraint, be sure the child
restraint is designed to be used in a vehicle. If it is,
it will have a label saying that it meets federal motor
vehicle safety standards.
Then follow the instructions for the restraint. You may
find these instructions on the restraint itself or in a
booklet, or both. These restraints use the belt system in
your vehicle, but the child also has to be secured within
the restraint to help reduce the chance of personal injury.
When securing an add
-on child restraint, refer to the
instructions that come with the restraint which may be
on the restraint itself or in a booklet, or both, and to this
manual. The child restraint instructions are important,
so if they are not available, obtain a replacement copy
from the manufacturer.
Where to Put the Restraint
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear rather than the front seat.
General Motors, therefore, recommends that child
restraints be secured in the rear seat including an infant
riding in a rear
-facing infant seat, a child riding in a
forward
-facing child seat and an older child riding in
a booster seat. Never put a rear
-facing child restraint
in the front passenger seat. Here's why:

1-47
CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger's air bag inflates. This is because
the back of the rear
-facing child restraint would
be very close to the inflating air bag. Always
secure a rear
-facing child restraint in a rear seat.
You may secure a forward-facing child restraint
in the right front seat, but before you do, always
move the front passenger seat as far back as it
will go. It's better to secure the child restraint
in a rear seat.
CAUTION:
A child in a child restraint in the center front seat
can be badly injured or killed by the right front
passenger air bag if it inflates. Never secure a
child restraint in the center front seat. It's always
better to secure a child restraint in the rear seat.
You may secure a forward
-facing child restraint
in the right front passenger seat, but before you
do, always move the front passenger seat as far
back as it will go. It's better to secure the child
restraint in a rear seat.
Wherever you install it, be sure to secure the child
restraint properly.
Keep in mind that an unsecured child restraint can
move around in a collision or sudden stop and injure
people in the vehicle. Be sure to properly secure any
child restraint in your vehicle
-- even when no child
is in it.

1-48 Top Strap
Some child restraints have a top strap, or ªtop tether.º
It can help restrain the child restraint during a collision.
For it to work, a top strap must be properly anchored to
the vehicle.
If the child restraint does not have a top strap, one
can be obtained, in kit form, for many child restraints.
Ask the child restraint manufacturer whether or not a
kit is available.
In Canada, the law requires that forward-facing child
restraints have a top strap, and that the strap be anchored.
In the United States, some child restraints also have a
top strap. If your child restraint has a top strap, it should
be anchored.
Your vehicle has top strap anchors already installed for
the rear seating positions. You'll find them behind the
rear seat on the filler panel.
In order to get to a bracket, you'll have to open the
trim cover.

1-49
Anchor the top strap to one of these anchor points.
Be sure to use an anchor point located on the same side
of the vehicle as the seating position where the child
restraint will be placed. If you have an adjustable head
restraint, raise the head restraint and route the top strap
under it.
Once you have the top strap anchored, you'll be ready
to secure the child restraint itself. Tighten the top strap
when and as the child restraint manufacturer's
instructions say.
Securing a Child Restraint in a
Rear Seat Position
CAUTION:
A child in a child restraint in the center front seat
can be badly injured or killed by the right front
passenger air bag if it inflates. Never secure a
child restraint in the center front seat. It's always
better to secure a child restraint in the rear seat.
You may secure a forward
-facing child restraint
in the right front passenger seat, but before you
do, always move the front passenger seat as far
back as it will go. It's better to secure the child
restraint in the rear seat.