2003 PONTIAC GRAND AM Owners Manual

Q: What’s wrong with this?
A: The shoulder belt is too loose. It won’t give nearly
as much protection this way. 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.
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Q: What’s wrong with this?
A: The belt is buckled in the wrong place. You can be seriously injured if your belt
is
buckled in the wrong place like this. In a crash,
the belt would
go up over your abdomen. The
belt forces would be there, not at the pelvic
bones. This could cause serious internal
injuries. Always buckle your belt into the
buckle nearest you.
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Q: What's wrong with this? 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.
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?
1 I I I I I I I I I 1 I
A: The belt is twisted across the body. 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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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.
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.
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.
To learn how to wear the right front passenger’s safety
belt properly, see
Driver 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.
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
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Lap-Shoulder Belt
The positions next to the windows 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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If the belt stops before it reaches the buckle,
tilt the latch plate and keep pulling until you can
buckle it.
Puii up on lne iaicn piaie
io make sure ii is secure.
If the belt
is not long enough, see Safety Belt
Extender
on page 1-31. 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 io.
3. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder part.
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