2008 CHEVROLET TAHOE Owners Manual

The manufacturer’s instructions that come with the
booster seat, state the weight and height limitations for
that booster. Use a booster seat with a lap-shoulder
belt until the child passes the below t test:
Sit all the way back on the seat. Do the knees bend
at the seat edge? If yes, continue. If no, return to
the booster seat.
Buckle the lap-shoulder belt. Does the shoulder belt
rest on the shoulder? If yes, continue. If no, try using
the rear safety belt comfort guide. See “Rear Safety
Belt Comfort Guides” underLap-Shoulder Belt on
page 1-42for more information. If the shoulder belt
still does not rest on the shoulder, then return to the
booster seat.
Does the lap belt t low and snug on the hips,
touching the thighs? If yes, continue. If no, return
to the booster seat.
Can proper safety belt t be maintained for length of
trip? If yes, continue. If no, return to the booster seat.
If you have the choice, a child should sit in a position
with a lap-shoulder belt and get the additional restraint
a shoulder belt can provide.
Q:What is the proper way to wear safety belts?
A: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.
This applies belt force to the child’s pelvic bones
in a crash. It should never be worn over the
abdomen, which could cause severe or even fatal
internal injuries in a crash.
Also see “Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides” under
Lap-Shoulder Belt on page 1-42.
According to accident statistics, children and infants
are safer when properly restrained in the rear seating
positions than in the front seating positions.
1-51

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.
{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Never allow two children to wear the same
safety belt. The safety belt can not properly
spread the impact forces. In a crash, the
two children can be crushed together and
seriously injured. A safety belt must be used
by only one person at a time.
1-52

{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Never allow a child to wear the safety belt with
the shoulder belt behind their back. A child
can be seriously injured by not wearing the
lap-shoulder belt properly. In a crash, the child
would not be restrained by the shoulder belt.
The child could move too far forward increasing
the chance of head and neck injury. The child
might also slide under the lap belt. The belt
force would then be applied right on the
abdomen. That could cause serious or fatal
injuries. The shoulder belt should go over the
shoulder and across the chest.
1-53

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.
{CAUTION:
Children can be seriously injured or strangled if
a shoulder belt is wrapped around their neck
and the safety belt continues to tighten. Never
leave children unattended in a vehicle and never
allow children to play with the safety belts.Every time infants and young children ride in vehicles,
they should have the protection provided by appropriate
restraints. Children who are not restrained properly
can strike other people, or can be thrown out of
the vehicle. In addition, young children should not use
the vehicle’s adult safety belts alone; they need to
use a child restraint.
{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Never hold an infant or a child while riding in
a vehicle. Due to crash forces, an infant or a
child will become so heavy it is not possible
to hold it during a crash. For example, in a
crash at only 25 mph (40 km/h), a 12 lb (5.5 kg)
infant will suddenly become a 240 lb (110 kg)
force on a person’s arms. An infant should be
secured in an appropriate restraint.
1-54

{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Children who are up against, or very close to,
any airbag when it inates can be seriously
injured or killed. Never put a rear-facing
child restraint in the right front seat. Secure
a rear-facing child restraint in a rear seat.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
It is also better to secure a forward-facing
child restraint in a rear seat. If you must
secure a forward-facing child restraint in
the right front seat, always move the front
passenger seat as far back as it will go.
1-55

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.
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:
To reduce the risk of neck and head injury
during a crash, infants need complete support.
This is because an infant’s neck is not fully
developed and its head weighs so much
compared with the rest of its body. In a crash,
an infant in a rear-facing child restraint 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
should always be secured in rear-facing child
restraints.
1-56

{CAUTION:
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. To reduce the risk
of serious or fatal injuries during a crash,
young children should always be secured in
appropriate child restraints.
Child Restraint Systems
A rear-facing infant
seat (A) provides restraint
with the seating surface
against the back of
the infant.
The harness system holds the infant in place and, in a
crash, acts to keep the infant positioned in the restraint.
A forward-facing child
seat (B) provides restraint
for the child’s body
with the harness.
1-57

A booster seat (C-D) is a child restraint designed to
improve the t of the vehicle’s safety belt system.
A booster seat can also help a child to see out the
window.
Securing an Add-On Child Restraint
in the Vehicle
{CAUTION:
A child can be seriously injured or killed in a
crash if the child restraint is not properly
secured in the vehicle. Secure the child restraint
properly in the vehicle using the vehicle’s
safety belt or LATCH system, following the
instructions that came with that child restraint
and the instructions in this manual.
To help reduce the chance of injury, the child restraint
must be secured in the vehicle. Child restraint systems
must be secured in vehicle seats by lap belts or the
lap belt portion of a lap-shoulder belt, or by the LATCH
system. SeeLower Anchors and Tethers for Children
(LATCH) on page 1-61for more information. A child can
be endangered in a crash if the child restraint is not
properly secured in the vehicle.
1-58