2003 OLDSMOBILE AURORA Owners Manual

Q: What’s wrong with this?
L
You can be seriou I 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.
A: The shoulder belt is worn under the arm. It should
be worn over the shoulder at all times.
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Q: What’s wrong with this?
A: The belt is twisted across the body. You
can be s,..ously 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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To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
The belt should go back out of the way.
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.
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 7-74.
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.
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.
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Lap-Shoulder Belt
All rear seating positions have lap-shoulder belts. Here’s
how to wear one properly.
1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let it get twisted.
The shoulder belt may lock
if you pull the belt
across you very quickly.
If this happens, let the belt
go back slightly to unlock it. Then pull the belt
across you more slowly.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
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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 strong 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. This
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,
or
if you pull the belt very quickly out of the retractor.
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You can be seriously hurt if your shoulder belt
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.
Rear shoulder belt comfort guides 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.
There
is one guide available for each outside passenger
position in the rear seat. 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 pocket on the
side of the seatback.
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