2004 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 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 in a seat that
has a lap-shoulder belt to 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 t 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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{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same
belt. The belt can not properly spread the
impact forces.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
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:If the child is sitting in a rear outside seat position,
move the child toward the center of the vehicle. See
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for Children and
Small Adults on page 1-29. If the child is sitting in the
center rear seat position of a crew cab, move the
child toward the safety belt buckle. In either case 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 so small that the shoulder belt is still
very close to the child’s face or neck, you might want
to place the child a seat that has a lap belt, if your
vehicle has one.
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{CAUTION:
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
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
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.
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.
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{CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to,
any air bag when it inates can be seriously
injured or killed. Air bags plus lap-shoulder
belts offer outstanding protection for adults and
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
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.
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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.
{CAUTION:
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.
{CAUTION:
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 is
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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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.A booster seat (F-G) is a child restraint designed to
improve the t of the vehicle’s safety belt system.
Some booster seats have a shoulder belt positioner,
and some high-back booster seats have a ve-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 ve-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 at 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
nd these instructions on the restraint itself or in a
booklet, or both. These restraints use the belt system or
the LATCH 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.
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Lower Anchorages and Top Tethers
for Children (LATCH System)
Your vehicle has the LATCH system. You will nd
anchors for the front passenger and the center rear
seating positions for extended cab models. For regular
cab models, you will nd anchors for the right front
passenger seating position. For crew cab models, you
will nd anchors for the second row center and
second row right passenger seating positions.This system, designed to make installation of child
restraints easier, does not use the vehicle’s safety belts.
Instead, it uses vehicle anchors and child restraint
attachments to secure the restraints. Some restraints
also use another vehicle anchor to secure a top
tether strap.
A. Lower Anchorage
B. Lower Anchorage
C. Top Tether
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