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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 frontal air bag for
the driver and another frontal air bag for the right
front passenger.Your vehicle may also have a side impact air bag for the
driver. If your vehicle has a side impact air bag for the
driver it will say AIR BAG on the air bag covering on
the side of the driver's seatback closest to the door.
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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1-49
If the shoulder belt goes in front of the child's face or
neck, put it behind the child restraint.
3. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button is
positioned so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly if you ever had to.
4. Pull the rest of the shoulder belt all the way out of
the retractor to set the lock.
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Door Locks
CAUTION:
Unlocked doors can be dangerous.
Passengers -- especially children -- can
easily open the doors and fall out of a
moving vehicle. When a door is locked,
the handle won't open it. You increase the
chance of being thrown out of the vehicle in
a crash if the doors aren't locked. So, wear
safety belts properly and lock the doors
whenever you drive.
Young children who get into unlocked
vehicles may be unable to get out. A child
can be overcome by extreme heat and can
suffer permanent injuries or even death
from heat stroke. Always lock your vehicle
whenever you leave it.
Outsiders can easily enter through an
unlocked door when you slow down or stop
your vehicle. Locking your doors can help
prevent this from happening.
There are several ways to lock and unlock the vehicle.
From the outside, use your key or the optional remote
keyless entry transmitter. From the inside, use the
manual or power door locks.
To unlock either front door from the outside with the
key, insert the key and turn it toward the front of the
vehicle. To lock either front door from the outside with
your key, insert the key and turn it toward the rear of
the vehicle.
To lock the door from the inside, push the manual lock
lever forward. To unlock the door, pull the lever rearward.
Page 212 of 387

4-12 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.