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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 do not wear safety belts.
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.
The best way to protect the fetus is to protect the
mother. When a safety belt is worn properly, it is more
likely that the fetus will not 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, seeDriver Position on page 1-16.
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 which may turn off the passenger’s frontal
airbag. If this happens unintentionally, just let the belt
go back all the way and start again.
Center Passenger Position
If your vehicle has front and rear bench seats, someone
can sit in the center positions.
When you sit in the center rear seat position of a crew
cab, you have a lap-shoulder belt which is similar to
the rear outside seat positions. To learn how to wear this
belt see “Lap-Shoulder Belt” underRear Seat
Passengers on page 1-27.
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Rear Seat Passengers
It is 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 are not 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
(Extended Cab and Crew Cab)
Lap-Shoulder Belt
Here is how to wear a lap-shoulder belt properly.
1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Do not 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.
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2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
When the shoulder belt is pulled out all the way,
it will lock. If it does, let it go back all the way and
start again.
If the belt is not long enough, seeSafety Belt
Extender on page 1-32.
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 to.
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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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 would 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 is a sudden stop or a crash.
The safety belt also locks if you pull the belt very quickly
out of the retractor.
{CAUTION:
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 t against your body.
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4. Pull the rest of the shoulder belt all the way out of
the retractor to set the lock.5. To tighten the belt, push down on the child restraint,
pull the shoulder portion of the belt to tighten the
lap portion of the belt and feed the shoulder
belt back into the retractor. If you are using a
forward-facing child restraint, you may nd it helpful
to use your knee to push down on the child
restraint as you tighten the belt.
6. Push and pull the restraint in different directions to
be sure it is secure.
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle’s
safety belt and let it go back all the way. The safety
belt will move freely again and be ready to work for an
adult or larger child passenger.
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4. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button is
positioned so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly if you ever had to.5. Pull the rest of the shoulder belt all the way out of the
retractor to set the lock.
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6. To tighten the belt, push down on the child restraint,
pull the shoulder portion of the belt to tighten the lap
portion of the belt and feed the shoulder belt back
into the retractor. If you are using a forward-facing
child restraint, you may nd it helpful to use your
knee to push down on the child restraint as you
tighten the belt. You should not be able to pull more
of the belt out of the retractor once the lock has
been set.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different directions
to be sure it is secure.To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle’s
safety belt and let it go back all the way. The safety
belt will move freely again and be ready to work for an
adult or larger child passenger.
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat Position (Regular
and Extended Cab) (With Airbag
Off Switch)
Your vehicle has a right front passenger airbag. There
is a switch on the instrument panel that you can
use to turn off the right front passenger’s frontal airbag.
See the following illustration. Your switch may vary
slightly. SeeAirbag Off Switch on page 1-73for more
on this, including important safety information and
illustrations of alternate switch designs.
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4. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button is
positioned so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly if you ever had to.5. Pull the rest of the shoulder belt all the way out of
the retractor to set the lock.
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