2008 GMC SIERRA Owner's Manual

{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same belt.
The belt cannot 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.
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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. In a crash, the child would
not be restrained by the shoulder belt. The
child might slide under the lap belt. The belt
force would then be applied right on the
abdomen. That could cause serious or fatal
injuries. The child could also move too far
forward increasing the chance of head and
neck injury. The shoulder belt should go over
the shoulder and across the chest.
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.
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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. 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:
People should never hold an infant in their
arms while riding in a vehicle. An infant does
not weigh much — until a crash. During a
crash an infant will become so heavy it is not
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
possible to hold it. 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.
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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.
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.
1-40

{CAUTION:
Newborn infants need complete support,
including support for the head and neck. This
is necessary because a newborn infant’s neck
is weak and its head weighs so much
compared with the rest of its body. In a crash,
an infant in a rear-facing seat 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 appropriate infant
restraints.
{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 should always be secured in
appropriate child restraints.
1-41

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.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.
1-42

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. Make sure the child
restraint is properly installed in the vehicle
using the vehicle’s safety belt or LATCH
system, following the instructions that came
with that restraint, and also 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 1-45for more information. A child can
be endangered in a crash if the child restraint is not
properly secured in the vehicle.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.
Securing the Child Within the Child
Restraint
{CAUTION:
A child can be seriously injured or killed in a
crash if the child is not properly secured in the
child restraint. Because there are different
systems, it is important to refer to the
instructions that come with the restraint. Make
sure the child is properly secured, following
the instructions that came with that restraint.
1-43

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 recommend that children and child restraints
be secured in a rear seat, including: an infant or a child
riding in a rear-facing child restraint; a child riding in
a forward-facing child seat; an older child riding in
a booster seat; and children, who are large enough,
using safety belts.
A label on your sun visor says, “Never put a rear-facing
child seat in the front.” This is because the risk to the
rear-facing child is so great, if the airbag deploys.
{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.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
Even though the passenger sensing system or
the airbag off switch is designed to turn off the
right front passenger’s frontal airbag if the
system detects a rear-facing child restraint, no
system is fail-safe, and no one can guarantee
that an airbag will not deploy under some
unusual circumstance, even though it is turned
off. We recommend that rear-facing child
restraints be secured in a rear seat, even if the
airbag is off.
If you 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.
1-44