2003 GMC SAVANA Owner's Manual

Q:What’s wrong with this?
A:The belt is over an armrest.
{CAUTION:
You can be seriously injured if your belt goes
over an armrest like this. The belt would be
much too high. In a crash, you can slide under
the belt. The belt force would then be applied
at the abdomen, not at the pelvic bones, and
that could cause serious or fatal injuries.
Be sure the belt goes under the armrests.
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2003 - Savana OM

Q:What’s wrong with this?
A:The shoulder belt is worn under the arm. It should
be worn over the shoulder at all times.
{CAUTION:
You can be seriously injured if you wear the
shoulder belt under your arm. In a crash, your
body would move too far forward, which would
increase the chance of head and neck injury.
Also, the belt would apply too much force to
the ribs, which aren’t as strong as shoulder
bones. You could also severely injure internal
organs like your liver or spleen.
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2003 - Savana OM

Q:What’s wrong with this?
A:The belt is twisted across the body.
{CAUTION:
You can be seriously injured by a twisted belt.
In a crash, you wouldn’t have the full width of
the belt to spread impact forces. If a belt is
twisted, make it straight so it can work
properly, or ask your dealer to fix it.
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2003 - Savana OM

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.
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.
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, seeDriver Position on page 1-14.
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.
Center Passenger Position
(2nd Row)
If your vehicle has a second row bench seat, someone
can sit in the center position. When you sit in the
center position in the second row bench seat, you have
a lap-shoulder belt which works the same way as the
rear seat outside passengers’belts. To learn how
to wear a lap-shoulder belt see,“Lap-Shoulder Belt”
underRear Seat Passengers on page 1-26.
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Center Passenger Position
(3rd, 4th and 5th Row)
Lap Belt
If your vehicle has third, fourth orfifth row bench seats,
someone can sit in the center positions.When you sit in a center seating position in the third,
fourth orfifth row, 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.
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2003 - Savana OM

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, seeSafety Belt Extender on page 1-32.
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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2003 - Savana OM

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
The positions next to the windows have lap-shoulder
belts.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
Here’s how to wear a lap-shoulder belt properly.
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2003 - Savana OM