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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 25.
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. If this happens, just
let the belt go back all the way and start again.
When the safety belt is not in use, slide the latch
plate up so that it is stored on the safety belt
stitching, near the guide loop.
If your vehicle has a center passenger position, be
sure to use the correct buckle when buckling
your lap-shoulder belt. If the latch plate will not go
fully into the buckle, see if you are using the
buckle for the center passenger position.
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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.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
All rear seating positions have lap-shoulder belts.
Here is how to wear one 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.
The latch plates for the safety belts in each
rear seating position vary in size. If the center
rear or the left rear latch plate is inserted
into the incorrect buckle, the plate will not latch
properly. Be sure you are using the correct
buckle and that the latch plate clicks when
inserted into the buckle.
When the shoulder belt is pulled out all the
way, it will lock. If it does, let it go back
and start again.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it
is secure.
If the belt is not long enough, seeSafety Belt
Extender on page 42.
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 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 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.
{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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{CAUTION:
Children can be seriously injured or
strangled if a shoulder belt is wrapped
around their neck and the safety belt
continues to tighten. Secure any unused
safety belts behind the child restraint so
children cannot reach them. Pull the
shoulder belt all the way out of the
retractor to set the lock, if your vehicle has
one, after the child restraint has been
installed. Be sure to follow the instructions
of the child restraint manufacturer.
Notice:Contact between the child restraint or
the LATCH attachment parts and the vehicle’s
safety belt assembly may cause damage to
these parts. Make sure when securing unused
safety belts behind the child restraint that
there is no contact between the child restraint
or the LATCH attachment parts and the
vehicle’s safety belt assembly.Folding an empty rear seat with the safety
belts secured may cause damage to the safety
belt or the seat. When removing the child
restraint, always remember to return the safety
belts to their normal, stowed position before
folding the rear seat.
1. Attach and tighten the lower attachments to
the lower anchors. If the child restraint does
not have lower attachments or the desired
seating position does not have lower anchors,
secure the child restraint with the top tether
and the safety belts. Refer to your child
restraint manufacturer instructions and the
instructions in this manual.
1.1. Find the lower anchors for the desired
seating position.
1.2. Put the child restraint on the seat.
1.3. Attach and tighten the lower
attachments on the child restraint to the
lower anchors.
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3. 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.4. Pull the rest of the shoulder belt all the way
out of the retractor to set the lock.
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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.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 from the retractor
once the lock has been set.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.8. If the airbag is off, the off indicator on the
overhead console will be lit and stay lit
when the key is turned to RUN or START.
If a child restraint has been installed and the on
indicator is lit, turn the vehicle off. Remove
the child restraint from the vehicle and reinstall the
child restraint.
If, after reinstalling the child restraint and restarting
the vehicle, the on indicator is still lit, check to
make sure that the vehicle’s seatback is not
pressing the child restraint into the seat cushion.
If this happens, slightly recline the vehicle’s
seatback and adjust the seat cushion if possible.
Also make sure the child restraint is not trapped
under the vehicle head restraint. If this happens,
adjust the head restraint.
If the on indicator is still lit, secure the child in the
child restraint in a rear seat position in the
vehicle and check with your dealer.
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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