2009 PONTIAC VIBE belt

Questions and Answers About
Safety Belts
Q:
Will I be trapped in the vehicle
after a crash if I am wearing a
safety belt?
A:Youcouldbe — whether you are
wearing a safety belt or not. But
your chance of being conscious
during and after an accident, so
youcanunbuckle and get out, is
muchgreater if you are belted.
And you can unbuckle a safety
belt, even if you are upside down.
Q:If my vehicle has airbags, why
should I have to wear safety
belts?
A:Airbags are supplemental
systems only; so they workwith
safety belts — not instead of
them. Whether or not an airbag is
provided, all occupants still have
to buckle up to get the most
protection. That is true not only in
frontal collisions, but especially in
side and other collisions.
Q:If I am a good driver, and I
never drive far from home,
why should I wear safety
belts?
A:You may be an excellent driver,
but if you are in a crash — even
one that is not your fault — you
and your passenger(s) can be
hurt. Being a good driver does not
protect you from things beyond
your control, such as bad drivers.
Most accidents occur within
25 miles (40 km) of home. And
the greatest number of serious
injuries and deaths occur at
speeds of less than 40 mph
(65 km/h).
Safety belts are for everyone.
How to Wear Safety Belts
Properly
This section is only for people of
adult size.
Be aware that there are special
things to know about safety
belts and children. And there are
different rules for smaller children
and infants. If a child will be riding in
the vehicle, seeOlder Children on
page 1-36orInfants and Young
Children on page 1-38. Follow those
rules for everyone’s protection.
It is very important for all occupants
to buckle up. Statistics show that
unbelted people are hurt more often
in crashes than those who are
wearing safety belts.
Occupants who are not buckled up
can be thrown out of the vehicle
in a crash. And they can strike
others in the vehicle who are
wearing safety belts.
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2009 - Pontiac Vibe Owner Manual

First, before you or your
passenger(s) wear a safety belt,
there is important information
you should know.
Sit up straight and always keep
your feet on the oor in front of you.
The lap part of the belt should beworn 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
on 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 shoulder belt locks if there is a
sudden stop or crash.Q:What is wrong with this?
A:The shoulder belt is too loose.
It will not give as much
protection this way.
{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
snugly against your body.
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Q:What is wrong with this?
A:The lap belt is too loose. It will
not give nearly as much
protection this way.
{CAUTION
You can be seriously hurt if your
lap belt is too loose. In a crash,
you could slide under the lap belt
and apply force on your abdomen.
This could cause serious or even
fatal injuries. The lap belt should
be worn low and snug on the
hips, just touching the thighs.
Q:What is wrong with this?
A:The belt is buckled in the wrong
buckle.
{CAUTION
You can be seriously injured if
your belt is buckled in the wrong
place like this. In a crash, the belt
would go up over your abdomen.
The belt forces would be there,
not on the pelvic bones. This
could cause serious internal
injuries. Always buckle your belt
into the buckle nearest you.
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2009 - Pontiac Vibe Owner Manual

Q:What is wrong with this?
A:The belt is over an armrest.
{CAUTION
You can be seriously injured if
your belt goes over an armrest
like this. The belt would be much
too high. In a crash, you can slide
under the belt. The belt force
would then be applied on the
abdomen, not on the pelvic
bones, and that could cause
serious or fatal injuries. Be sure
the belt goes under the armrests.
Q:What is wrong with this?
A:The shoulder belt is worn under
the arm. It should be worn over
the shoulder at all times.
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{CAUTION
You can be seriously injured if you
wear the shoulder belt under your
arm. In a crash, your body would
move too far forward, which would
increase the chance of head and
neck injury. Also, the belt would
apply too much force to the ribs,
which are not as strong as
shoulder bones. You could also
severely injure internal organs like
your liver or spleen. The shoulder
belt should go over the shoulder
and across the chest.
Q:What is wrong with this?
A:The belt is behind the body.
{CAUTION
You can be seriously injured by
not wearing the lap-shoulder belt
properly. In a crash, you would
not be restrained by the shoulder
belt. Your body could move too
far forward increasing the chance
of head and neck injury. You
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.
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Q:What is wrong with this?
A:The belt is twisted across
the body.
{CAUTION
You can be seriously injured by a
twisted belt. In a crash, you would
not have the full width of the belt
to spread impact forces. If a belt
is twisted, make it straight so it
can work properly, or ask your
dealer/retailer to x it.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
All seating positions in the vehicle
have a lap-shoulder belt.
The following instructions explain
how to wear a lap-shoulder belt
properly.
1. Adjust the seat so you can sit up
straight. To see how, see “Seats”
in the Index.
2. Pick up the latch plate and pull
the belt across you. Do not let
it get twisted.The lap-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.
If the shoulder portion of a
passenger belt is pulled out all
the way, the child restraint
locking feature may be engaged.
If this happens, let the belt go
back all the way and start again.
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3. Push the latch plate into the
buckle until it clicks.
If the latch plate will not go fully
into the buckle, check if the
correct buckle is being used.
Pull up on the latch plate to make
sure it is secure. If the belt is
not long enough, seeSafety Belt
Extender on page 1-19.
Position the release button on
the buckle so that the safety belt
could be quickly unbuckled if
necessary.4. If equipped with a shoulder belt
height adjuster, move it to the
height that is right for you.
See “Shoulder Belt Height
Adjustment” later in this section
for instructions on use and
important safety information.
5. To make the lap part tight, pull
up on the shoulder belt.
It may be necessary to pull
stitching on the safety belt
through the latch plate to fully
tighten the lap belt on smaller
occupants.To unlatch the belt, push the button
on the buckle. The belt should
return to its stowed position.
Before a door is closed, be sure the
safety belt is out of the way. If a
door is slammed against a safety
belt, damage can occur to both the
safety belt and the vehicle.
Shoulder Belt Height Adjuster
The vehicle has a shoulder belt
height adjuster for the driver and
right front passenger seating
positions.
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Adjust the height so that the
shoulder portion of the belt is
centered on the shoulder. The belt
should be away from the face and
neck, but not falling off of the
shoulder. Improper shoulder belt
height adjustment could reduce the
effectiveness of the safety belt in a
crash.
Push down on the release button
and move the height adjuster to
the desired position. The adjuster
can be moved up by pushing on the
front of the height adjuster.After the adjuster is set to the
desired position, try to move it
down without pushing the button
to make sure it has locked into
position.
Safety Belt Pretensioners
This vehicle has safety belt
pretensioners for the front outboard
occupants. Although the safety belt
pretensioners cannot be seen, they
are part of the safety belt assembly.
They can help tighten the safety belts
during the early stages of a moderate
to severe frontal and near frontal
crash if the threshold conditions for
pretensioner activation are met.
And, if the vehicle has side impact
airbags, safety belt pretensioners
can help tighten the safety belts in a
side crash.If the passenger sensing system
detects that there is not a passenger
in the right front passenger position,
the safety belt pretensioner for that
position will not activate. See
Passenger Sensing System on
page 1-28.
Pretensioners work only once. If the
pretensioners activate in a crash,
they will need to be replaced, and
probably other new parts for your
safety belt system. SeeReplacing
Safety Belt System Parts After a
Crash on page 1-20.
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