Children who are up against, or very close 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.
1-52
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.
Newbc.
__ 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.
1-53
restraint in the right front passenger seat unless your
vehicle has the passenger sensing system and the
passenger air bag status indicator shows
off. Never put
a rear facing child restrain in the right front passenger
seat
I Inless the air bag is off.
1
A l-..jld in a rear-facing -..ild 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
is
designed to turn off the passenger’s frontal air
bag if the system detects a rear-facing child
restraint, no system is fail-safe, and no one
can guarantee that an air bag will not deploy
under some unusual circumstance,
CAUTION: (Continued) even though
it is
turned off. General Motors
therefore recommends that rear-facing child restraints be secured in the rear seat whenever
possible, even if the air bag is
off.
The passenger sensing system is designed to turn off
the right front passenger’s frontal air bag if:
the right front passenger seat is unoccupied,
the system determines that an infant is present in a
rear-facing infant seat,
the system determines that a small child is present
in
a forward-facing child restraint,
the system determines that a small child is present
in a booster seat,
a right front passenger takes hidher weight off of
the right front passenger seat is occupied by a
the seat for a period of time.
smaller person, such as a child who has outgrown
child restraints.
0 or if there is a critical problem with the air bag
system or the passenger sensing system.
1-82
Torque Lock
If you are parking on a hill and you don’t shift your
vehicle into PARK (P) properly, the weight of the vehicle
may put
too much force on the parking pawl in the
transmission. You may find it difficult
to pull the shift
lever
out of PARK (P). This is called torque lock.
To prevent torque lock, set the parking brake and then
shift into PARK (P) properly before you leave the
driver’s seat. To find
out how, see Shifting lnto Park (P)
on page 2-26.
When you are ready to drive, move the shift lever out of
PARK (P) before you release the parking brake.
If torque lock does occur, you may need
to have another
vehicle push yours a little uphill
to take some of the
pressure from the parking pawl in the transmission,
so
you can pull the shift lever out of PARK (P).
Shifting Out of Park (P)
Your vehicle has an automatic transmission shift lock
control system. You have
to fully apply your regular
brakes before you can shift from PARK (P) when the
ignition is in RUN. See Automatic Transmission
Operation
on page 2-22.
If you cannot shift out of PARK (P), ease pressure on
the shift lever and push the shift lever all the way up into
PARK (P) as you maintain brake application. Then,
move the shift lever into the gear you want.
If you ever hold the brake pedal down but still can’t shift
out of PARK (P), try this:
1. Turn the key to LOCK.
2. Apply and hold the brake until the end of Step 4.
3. Shift the vehicle to NEUTRAL (N).
4. Start the vehicle and then shift to the drive gear
you want.
5. Have the system fixed as soon as you can.
2-28
Storage Areas
Glove Box
To open your glove box, lift up the latch and pull the
door open.
Cupholder(s)
Your vehicle is equipped with cupholders for the front
and rear passengers.
The cupholders are located in the center console for the
front passengers and on the rear of the center console
for the rear passengers.
To use the front cupholders, press down on the access
door and release. The door will then open. Push the
door back down
to close it.
To use the rear cupholders, pull down on the door
located on the back
of the console.
Center Console Storage Area
Your vehicle has a console compartment between the
bucket seats.
To open it, press the button on the side of the console
and swing the console lid open.
The console may be equipped with an accessory power
outlet inside. See
Accessory Power Outlets on
page 3- 17.
The rear of the console also has a cupholder that
swings down for the rear seat passengers
to use.
Luggage Carrier
You can load things on top of your vehicle with this
feature.
The luggage carrier has slats and siderails attached to
the roof and crossrails which can be moved back
and forth
to help secure cargo. Tie the load to the
siderails or siderail supports.
Notice: Loading cargo that weighs more than 200
Ibs. (91 kg) on the luggage carrier may damage your
vehicle. When you carry large things, never let
them hang over the rear or the sides
of your vehicle.
Load your cargo
so that it rests on the slats and
does not scratch or damage the vehicle. Put
the cargo against the side rails and fasten it
securely to the luggage carrier. Put the main weight
as far forward as
you can.
2-42
Many adults - by some estimates, nearly half the adult
population
- choose never to drink alcohol, so they
never drive after drinking. For persons under 21,
it’s against the law in every
U.S. state to drink alcohol.
There are good medical, psychological anci
developmental reasons for these laws.
The obvious way
to eliminate the leading highway
safety problem is for people never
to drink alcohol and
then drive. But what
if people do? How much is “too
much” if someone plans to drive? It’s a lot less
than many might think. Although it depends on each
person and situation, here is some general information
on the problem.
The Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)
of someone
who is drinking depends upon four things:
0 The amount of alcohol consumed
The drinker’s body weight
The amount of food that is consumed before and
during drinking
consume the alcohol.
The length of time it has taken the drinker to
According to the American Medical Association, a 180 Ib
(82 kg) person who drinks three 12 ounce (355 ml)
bottles
of beer in an hour will end up with a BAC of
about
0.06 percent. The person would reach the
same BAC by drinking three 4 ounce
(120 ml) glasses
of wine or three mixed drinks if each had 1 - 1/2 ounces
(45
ml) of a liquor like whiskey, gin or vodka.
111 .... ~ .. ... ..
It’s the amount of alcohol that counts. For example, if
the same person drank three double martinis (3 ounces
or
90 ml of liquor each) within an hour, the person’s
BAC would be close
to 0.1 2 percent. A person
who consumes food just before or during drinking will
have a somewhat lower BAC level.
4-3
There is a gender difference, too. Women generally
have a lower relative percentage
of body water
than men. Since alcohol is carried in body water, this
means that a woman generally will reach a higher BAC
level than a man of her same body weight when
each has the same number of drinks.
The law in an increasing number of US. states, and
throughout Canada, sets the legal limit at
0.08 percent.
In some other countries, the limit is even lower. For
example, it is
0.05 percent in both France and Germany.
The BAC limit for all commercial drivers in the United
States is
0.04 percent.
The BAC will be over
0.1 0 percent after three to six
drinks (in one hour).
Of course, as we’ve seen, it
depends on how much alcohol is in the drinks, and how
quickly the person drinks them.
But the ability
to drive is affected well below a BAC of
0.10 percent. Research shows that the driving skills
of many people are impaired at a BAC approaching
0.05 percent, and that the effects are worse at night. All
drivers are impaired at BAC levels above
0.05 percent.
Statistics show that the chance of being in a collision
increases sharply for drivers who have a BAC of
0.05 percent or above. A driver with a BAC level of
0.06 percent has doubled his or her chance of having a
collision. At a BAC level of
0.10 percent, the chance
of this driver having a collision is
12 times greater; at a
level of
0.15 percent, the chance is 25 times greater!
The body takes about an hour
to rid itself of the alcohol
in one drink. No amount of coffee or number of cold
showers will speed that up.
“1’11 be careful’’ isn’t the right
answer. What
if there’s an emergency, a need to
take sudden action, as when a child darts into the
street?
A person with even a moderate BAC might not
be able
to react quickly enough to avoid the collision.
4-4
Braking
Braking action involves perception time and
reaction time.
First, you have
to decide to push on the brake pedal.
That’s perception time. Then you have
to bring up your
foot and do it. That’s reaction time.
Average reaction time is about 314 of a second. But
that’s only an average.
It might be less with one driver
and as long as two or three seconds or more with
another. Age, physical condition, alertness, coordination
and eyesight all play a part.
So do alcohol, drugs and
frustration.
But even in 3/4 of a second, a vehicle moving
at 60 mph
(100 km/h) travels 66 feet (20 m). That
could be a
lot of distance in an emergency, so keeping
enough space between your vehicle and others is
important.
And, of course, actual stopping distances vary greatly
with the surface of the road (whether it’s pavement
or gravel); the condition of the road (wet, dry, icy); tire
tread; the condition of your brakes; the weight of
the vehicle and the amount of brake force applied. Avoid needless heavy
braking. Some people drive in
spurts
- heavy acceleration followed by heavy
braking
- rather than keeping pace with traffic. This is
a mistake. Your brakes may not have time
to cool
between hard stops. Your brakes will wear out much
faster
if you do a lot of heavy braking. If you keep pace
with the traffic and allow realistic following distances,
you will eliminate a
lot of unnecessary braking.
That means better braking and longer brake life.
If your engine ever stops while you’re driving, brake
normally but don’t pump your brakes.
If you do,
the pedal may get harder
to push down. If your engine
stops, you will still have some power brake assist.
But you will use it when you brake. Once the power
assist is used up, it may take longer
to stop and
the brake pedal will be harder
to push.
4-6