2005 CHEVROLET CAVALIER belt

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.{CAUTION:
People should never hold a baby in their arms
while riding in a vehicle. A baby does not
weigh much — until a crash. During a crash a
baby will become so heavy it is not possible to
hold it. 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.
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{CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to,
any airbag when it inates can be seriously
injured or killed. Airbags plus lap-shoulder
belts offer protection for adults and older
children, but not for young children and
infants. Neither the vehicle’s safety belt system
nor its airbag system is designed for them.
Young children and infants need the protection
that a child restraint system can provide.
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{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.
Child Restraint Systems
An infant car bed (A), a special bed made for use in a
motor vehicle, is an infant restraint system designed
to restrain or position a child on a continuous at
surface. Make sure that the infant’s head rests toward
the center of the vehicle.
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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.
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.
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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
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.
Where to Put the Restraint
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they are
restrained in the rear rather than the front seat. We,
therefore, recommend 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.Neverput a
rear-facing child restraint in the front passenger seat.Here is why:
{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger’s airbag inates. This is because the
back of the rear-facing child restraint would be
very close to the inating airbag. Always secure
a rear-facing child restraint in a rear seat.
If you need to secure a forward-facing child
restraint in the right front seat, always move
the front passenger seat as far back as it will
go. It is 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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Lower Anchorages and Top Tethers
for Children (LATCH System)
Your vehicle has the LATCH system. You will nd
anchors for the rear outside 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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A. Lower Anchorage
B. Lower Anchorage
In order to use the LATCH system in your vehicle, you
need a child restraint designed for that system.To assist you in locating the lower anchors for this child
restraint system, each seating position with the
LATCH system has a label on the seatback at each
lower anchor position.
The labels are located
near the base of the two
rear outside seating
positions.{CAUTION:
If a LATCH-type child restraint is not attached
to its anchorage points, the restraint will not
be able to protect the child correctly. 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, following the
instructions that came with that restraint, and
also the instructions in this manual.
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Securing a Child Restraint Designed
for the LATCH System
1. Find the LATCH anchorages for the seating
position you want to use, where the bottom of the
seatback meets the back of the seat cushion.
SeeLower Anchorages and Top Tethers for
Children (LATCH System) on page 1-39.
2. Put the child restraint on the seat.
3. Attach and tighten the LATCH attachments on the
child restraint to the LATCH anchorages in the
vehicle. The child restraint instructions will show
you how.
4. If the child restraint is forward-facing, attach and
tighten the top tether to the top tether anchorage.
The child restraint instructions will show you
how. Also seeTop Strap on page 1-37.
5. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
To remove the child restraint, simply unhook the top
tether from the top tether anchorage and then
disconnect the LATCH attachments from the LATCH
anchorages.
Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear
Seat Position
If your child restraint is equipped with the LATCH
system, seeLower Anchorages and Top Tethers for
Children (LATCH System) on page 1-39. See the
Top Strap on page 1-37if the child restraint has one.
If your child restraint does not have the LATCH system,
you will be using the lap-shoulder belt to secure the
child restraint in this position. Be sure to follow the
instructions that came with the child restraint. Secure
the child in the child restraint when and as the
instructions say.
1. Put the child restraint on the seat.
2. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder
portions of the vehicle’s safety belt through or
around the restraint. The child restraint instructions
will show you how.
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