2003 GMC SIERRA DENALI Owners Manual

Children who are up against, or v - lose to,
any air bag when
it inflates 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.
Q: What are the different types of add-on child
restraints?
A: Add-on child restraints, which are purchased by the
vehicle’s owner, are available in four basic types.
Selection of a particular restraint should take into
consideration not only the child’s weight, height and
age but also whether or not the restraint will be
compatible with the motor vehicle in which it will
be used.
For most basic types of child restraints, there are
many different models available. When purchasing a
child restraint, be sure it is designed
to be used
in a motor vehicle. If it is, the restraint will have a
label saying that it meets federal motor vehicle
safety standards.
The restraint manufacturer’s instructions that come
with the restraint state the weight and height
limitations for a particular child restraint. In addition,
there are many kinds of restraints available for
children with special needs.
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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. 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.
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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 flat
surface. Make sure that the infant's head rests toward
the center
of the vehicle. A
rear-facing infant seat
(6) 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.
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I
A forward-facing child seat (C-E) provides restraint for
the child’s body with the harness and also sometimes
with surfaces such as T-shaped or shelf-like shields.
I
I
A booster seat (F-G) is a child restraint desiqned to
improve the fit of the vehicle’s safety belt system. Some
booster seats have a shoulder belt positioner, and
some high-back booster seats have a five-point harness.
A booster seat can also help a child to see out the
window.
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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 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. Never put a child in a rear-facing child
restraint in the right front passenger seat unless
your vehicle has the passenger sensing system and/or
an AIR BAG
OFF switch and the air bag status
indicator shows
off. Never put a rear facing child
restraint in the right front passenger seat unless the air
bag is
off. Here’s why:
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ld ,u secure a forward-fac ..., :hi[ ~ restra in
the right front seat, always move the front
passenger seat as far back as
it will go. It is
better to secure the child restraint in a
rear seat.
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. Be
sure the air bag
is off before using a
rear-facing child restraint
in the right front seat
position.
Even though the Passenger Sensing System
and/or
AIR BAG OFF switch are designed to
turn
off the passenger’s frontal air bag under
certain conditions, no system
is fail-safe, and
no one can guarantee that an air bag will not
deploy under some unusual circumstance,
even though
it is turned off. General Motors
therefore recommends that rear-facing child restraints be transported
in vehicles with a
rear seat that will accommodate a rear-facing
child restraint, whenever possible.
CAUTION: (Continued)
If your vehicle has the passenger sensing system
and/or the AIR BAG
OFF switch and you need to secure
a rear-facing child restraint in the right front passenger’s
seat, the passenger’s frontal air bag must be
off.
See Passenger Sensing System on page 1-68, Securing
a Child Restraint in the Right Front Seat Position on
page
1-50, and Air Bag Off Switch on page 1-64
for more on this including important safety information.
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.
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Top Strap
Some child restraints have a top strap, or “top tether”. It
can help restrain the child restraint during a collision.
For it to work,
a top strap must be properly anchored to
the vehicle. Some top strap-equipped child restraints
are designed for use with or without the top strap being
anchored. Others require the top strap always to be
anchored. Be sure to read and follow the instructions for
your child restraint.
If yours requires that the top strap
be anchored, don’t use the restraint unless it
is anchored
properly.
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.
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Anchor the top strap to one of the following 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, 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.
Top Strap Anchor Location
Right Front Passenger Position Top
Strap Anchor
You’ll find the top strap anchor for the right front
passenger seat behind the seat, near the floor.
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