2003 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX belt

Child Restraints
Older Children
Older children who have outgrown booster seats should
wear the vehicle’s safety belts.
If you have the choice, a child should sit next to a
window
so the child can wear a lap-shoulder belt and
get the additional restraint a shoulder belt can provide.
Q: What is the proper way to wear safety belts?
A: If possible, an older child should wear a
lap-shoulder belt and get the additional restraint a
shoulder belt can provide. The shoulder
belt
should not cross the face or neck. The lap belt
should fit snugly below the hips, just touching the
top of the thighs. It should never be worn over
the abdomen, which could cause severe or even
fatal internal injuries in a crash.
Accident statistics show that children are safer
if they
are restrained in the rear seat.
In a crash, children who are not buckled up can strike
other people who are buckled up, or can be thrown
out of the vehicle. Older children need to use safety
belts properly.
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Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same belt.
The belt can’t properly spread the impact
forces. In a crash, the two children can be crushed together and seriously injured.
A belt
must be used by only one person at a time.
Q: What if a child is wearing a lap-shoulder belt,
but the child
is so small that the shoulder belt
is very close to the child’s face or neck?
A: Move the child toward the center of the vehicle, but
be sure that the shoulder belt still is on the child’s
shoulder,
so that in a crash the child’s upper body
would have the restraint that belts provide. If the
child is sitting in a rear seat outside position, see
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for Children
and
Small Adults on page 7-26. If the child is so small
that the shoulder belt is still very close to the child’s
face
or neck, you might want to place the child in the
center seat position, the one that has only
a lap belt.
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Never do this.
Here a child
is sitting in a seat that has a
lap-shoulder belt,
but the shoulder part is
behind the child. If the child wears the belt in
this way, in a crash the child might slide under
the belt. The belt’s force would then be applied right on the child’s abdomen. That could cause
serious or fatal injuries.
Wherever the child sits, the lap portion of the belt
should be worn low and snug on the hips, just touching
the child’s thighs. This applies belt force to the child’s
pelvic bones in a crash.
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Infants and Young Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! This includes
infants and all other children. Neither the distance
traveled nor the age and size of the traveler changes
the need, for everyone, to use safety restraints. In fact,
the law in every state in the United States and in
every Canadian province says children up to some age
must be restrained while in a vehicle.
Every time infants and young children ride in vehicles,
they should have the protection provided
by appropriate
restraints. Young children should not use the vehicle’s
adult safety belts alone, unless there is no other choice.
Instead, they need to use a child restraint.
c
People should never hold a baby in their arms
while riding in
a vehicle. A baby doesn’t weigh
much
-- until a crash. During a crash a baby will
become
so heavy it is not possible to hold it.
CAUTION: (Continued)
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For example, in a crash at only 25 mph
(40 km/h), a 12-lb. (5.5 kg) baby will suddenly
become
a 240-lb. (110 kg) force on a person’s
arms.
A baby should be secured in an
appropriate restraint.
-
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.
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A booster seat (F-G) is a child restraint designed 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.
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.
R built-in child restraint system is i!
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.
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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 rear-facing
child restraint
in the front passenger seat. Here’s why:
A cl
f 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.
Always secure a rear-facing child restraint in
a rear seat.
You may secure a forward-facing child
restraint in the right front seat, but before you
do, always move the front passenger seat as
far back as
it will go. It’s better to secure the
child restraint
in a rear seat.
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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L
A. Vehicle anchor
B. LATCH system attachment points
With this system, use the LATCH system instead of the
vehicle’s safety belts
to secure a child restraint.
. - iTC. ‘type chi., restra ____ __ - attachec -3
its anchorage points, the restraint won’t be
able to protect a child sitting there. In a crash,
the child could be seriously injured or killed. Make sure that a LATCH-type child restraint is
properly installed using the anchorage points,
or use the vehicle’s safety belts to secure the
restraint. See “Securing a Child Restraint
Designed for the LATCH System”, “Securing a
Child Restraint in
a Rear Outside Seat
Position” or “Securing a Child Restraint in a
Center Rear Seat Position”
in the Index for
information on how to secure a child restraint
in your vehicle.
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