2006 PONTIAC SOLSTICE belt

Child Restraints
Older Children
Older children who have outgrown booster seats should
wear the vehicle’s safety belts.
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.
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. 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.
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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
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.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:
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.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
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.
{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
(Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) 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.
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.Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children (LATCH)
Some child restraints have a LATCH system. As part of
the LATCH system, your child restraint may have lower
attachments and/or a top tether. The LATCH system can
help hold the child restraint in place during driving or in a
crash. Some vehicles have lower and/or top tether
anchors designed to secure a child restraint with lower
attachments and/or a top tether.
Some child restraints with a top tether are designed to be
used whether the top tether is anchored or not. Other
child restraints require that the top tether be anchored.
A national or local law may require that the top tether
be anchored.
In Canada, the law requires that forward-facing child
restraints have a top tether, and that the tether be
attached.
Your vehicle does not have lower anchors or top tether
anchors to secure a child restraint with the LATCH
system. If a national or local law requires that your top
tether be anchored, do not use a child restraint in this
vehicle because a top tether cannot be properly
anchored. You must use the safety belts to secure your
child restraint in this vehicle, unless a national or local
law requires that the top tether be anchored. Refer to
your child restraint instructions and instructions in this
manual for securing a child restraint using the vehicle’s
safety belts.
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There is no top strap anchor in your vehicle. Do not
secure a child seat in your vehicle if a national or local
law requires that the top strap be anchored, or if the
instructions that come with the child restraint say that the
top strap must be anchored. SeeLower Anchors and
Tethers for Children (LATCH) on page 1-26for more
information.
If you need to secure a forward-facing child restraint in
the passenger’s position, move the seat as far back as it
will go before securing the forward-facing child restraint.
SeeManual Seats on page 1-2.
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. Your vehicle has a passenger’s frontal airbag. See
Passenger Sensing System on page 1-37. General
Motors recommends that rear-facing child restraints
be secured in a rear seat, even if the airbag is off. If
your child restraint is forward-facing, move the seat
as far back as it will go before securing the child
restraint in this seat. SeeManual Seats on page 1-2.
When the passenger sensing system has turned off
the passenger’s frontal airbag, the off indicator in the
passenger airbag status indicator should light and
stay lit when the vehicle is started. SeePassenger
Airbag Status Indicator on page 3-25.2. Put the child restraint on the seat.
3. 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.
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.
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