2003 CHEVROLET IMPALA belt

4. Buckle, position and release the safety belt as
described inRear Seat Passengers on page 1-25.
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 of the
guides. Pull the guide upward to expose its storage
clip, and then slide the guide into the clip. Turn the guide
and clip inward and in between the seatback and the
interior body, leaving only the loop of elastic cord
exposed.
Safety Belt Extender
If the vehicle's safety belt will fasten around you, you
should use it.
But if a safety belt isn't long enough to fasten, your
dealer will order you an extender. It's free. When you go
in to order it, take the heaviest coat you will wear, so
the extender will be long enough for you. The extender
will be just for you, and just for the seat in your
vehicle that you choose. Don't let someone else use it,
and use it only for the seat it is made to ®t. To wear
it, just attach it to the regular safety belt.
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Child Restraints
Older Children
Older children who have outgrown booster seats should
wear the vehicle's safety belts.
Q:What is the proper way to wear safety belts?
A:If possible, an older child should wear a
lap-shoulder belt and get the additional restraint a
shoulder belt can provide. The shoulder belt
should not cross the face or neck. The lap belt
should ®t snugly below the hips, just touching the
top of the thighs. It should never be worn over
the abdomen, which could cause severe or even
fatal internal injuries in a crash.
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear seat.
In a crash, children who are not buckled up can strike
other people who are buckled up, or can be thrown
out of the vehicle. Older children need to use safety
belts properly.
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{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same belt.
The belt can't properly spread the impact
forces. In a crash, the two children can be
crushed together and seriously injured. A belt
must be used by only one person at a time.
Q:What if a child is wearing a lap-shoulder belt,
but the child is so small that the shoulder belt
is very close to the child's face or neck?
A:If the child is sitting in a seat next to a window,
move the child toward the center of the vehicle. If
the child is sitting in the center rear seat
passenger position, move the child toward the
safety belt buckle. In either case, be sure that the
shoulder belt still is on the child's shoulder, so
that in a crash the child's upper body would have
the restraint that the belts provide.
If the child is sitting in a rear seat outside position,
see
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for Children
and Small Adults on page 1-28
.
1-32

{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here a child is sitting in a seat that has a
lap-shoulder belt, but the shoulder part is
behind the child. If the child wears the belt in
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
this way, in a crash the child might slide under
the belt. The belt's force would then be applied
right on the child's abdomen. That could cause
serious or fatal injuries.
Wherever the child sits, the lap portion of the belt
should be worn low and snug on the hips, just touching
the child's thighs. This applies belt force to the child's
pelvic bones in a crash.
Infants and Young 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.
Every time infants and young children ride in vehicles,
they should have the protection provided by appropriate
restraints. Young children should not use the vehicle's
adult safety belts alone, unless there is no other choice.
Instead, they need to use a child restraint.
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{CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to,
any air bag when it in¯ates can be seriously
injured or killed. Air bags plus lap-shoulder
belts offer outstanding protection for adults
and older children, 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.
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{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 the 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.
Child Restraint Systems
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 ¯at
surface. Make sure that the infant's head rests toward
the center of the vehicle.
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A booster seat (F-G) is a child restraint designed to
improve the ®t of the vehicle's safety belt system. Some
booster seats have a shoulder belt positioner, and
some high-back booster seats have a ®ve-point harness.
A booster seat can also help a child to see out the
window.
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 ®ve-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 ¯at 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.
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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
®nd 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 a 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.
Neverput a rear-facing child restraint
in the front passenger seat. Here's why:
{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger's air bag in¯ates. This is because
the back of the rear-facing child restraint
would be very close to the in¯ating 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.
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