2003 CHEVROLET ASTRO Owners Manual

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.
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.
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
Driver Position on page 1-18.
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.
Center Passenger Position
Lap Belt
If your vehicle has rear bench seats, someone can sit
in the center positions.
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When you sit in a center seating position, you have a
lap safety belt, which has no retractor.
To make the belt
longer, tilt the latch plate and pull it along the belt.
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 Safety Belt Extender
on page 1-34.
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.
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Rear Seat Passengers
It’s very important for rear seat passengers to buckle
up! Accident statistics show that unbelted people in the
rear seat are hurt more often in crashes than those
who are wearing safety belts.
Rear passengers who aren’t safety belted can be
thrown out of the vehicle in a crash. And they can strike
others in the vehicle who are wearing safety belts.
Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions Lap-Shoulder
Belt
These positions have lap-shoulder belts. Here’s how to
wear one properly.
1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Don’t let
it get twisted.
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If the belt stops before it reaches the buckle, tilt the
latch plate and keep pulling until you can buckle it.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure
it is secure.
If the belt is not long enough, see
Safety Belt
Extender
on page 1-34.
Make sure the release button on the buckle is
positioned
so that you would be able to unbuckle
the safety belt quickly
if you ever had to.
3. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder part.
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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 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. Phis 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 a crash.
is too loose. In a crash, you would move
forward too much, which could increase injury.
The shoulder belt should fit against your body.
To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
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Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
Your vehicle may have this feature already. If it doesn’t,
you can get it from any
GM dealer.
This feature 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.
To provide added safety belt comfort for children who
have outgrown child restraints and booster seats 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 clip on the side
of the seatback.
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