2011 CHEVROLET COLORADO Owners Manual

Black plate (13,1)Chevrolet Colorado Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-13
Why Safety Belts Work
When you ride in or on anything,
you go as fast as it goes.
Take the simplest vehicle. Suppose
it is just a seat on wheels.
Put someone on it.
Get it up to speed. Then stop the
vehicle. The rider does not stop.
The person keeps going until
stopped by something. In a real
vehicle, it could be the windshield...

Black plate (14,1)Chevrolet Colorado Owner Manual - 2011
3-14 Seats and Restraints
or the instrument panel...
or the safety belts!With safety belts, you slow down as
the vehicle does. You get more time
to stop. You stop over more
distance, and your strongest bones
take the forces. That is why safety
belts make such good sense.
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: You could be—whether you are
wearing a safety belt or not. But
your chance of being conscious
during and after an accident, so
you canunbuckle and get out, is
much greater 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 work with
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
40 km (25 miles) of home. And
the greatest number of serious
injuries and deaths occur at
speeds of less than
65 km/h (40 mph).
Safety belts are for everyone.

Black plate (15,1)Chevrolet Colorado Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-15
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 3‑39 orInfants and Young
Children on page 3‑41. 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.
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 floor in front of you. 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 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.

Black plate (16,1)Chevrolet Colorado Owner Manual - 2011
3-16 Seats and Restraints
Q: What is wrong with this?
A:The shoulder belt is too loose.
It will not give as much
protection this way.
{WARNING
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 fit
snugly against your body. Q: What is wrong with this?
A:
The lap belt is too loose. It will
not give nearly as much
protection this way.
{WARNING
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.

Black plate (17,1)Chevrolet Colorado Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-17
Q: What is wrong with this?
A:The belt is buckled in the wrong
buckle.
{WARNING
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.
(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
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.
Q: What is wrong with this?
A: The belt is over an armrest.
{WARNING
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.

Black plate (18,1)Chevrolet Colorado Owner Manual - 2011
3-18 Seats and Restraints
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.
{WARNING
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
(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
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.
{WARNING
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.

Black plate (19,1)Chevrolet Colorado Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-19
Q: What is wrong with this?
A:The belt is twisted across
the body.
{WARNING
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 to fix it.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
All seating positions in the vehicle
have a lap-shoulder belt except for
the center front passenger position,
if equipped, which has a lap belt.
See Lap Belt on page 3‑24 for more
information.
The following instructions explain
how to wear a lap-shoulder belt
properly.
1. Adjust the seat, if the seat is adjustable, 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 you ever pull the shoulder
portion of a passenger belt out
all the way, the child restraint locking feature may be engaged.
If this happens, just let the belt
go back all the way and start
again.
Engaging the child restraint
locking feature in the right front
seating position may affect the
passenger sensing system,
if equipped. See
Passenger
Sensing System on page 3‑32
for more information.
3. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.

Black plate (20,1)Chevrolet Colorado Owner Manual - 2011
3-20 Seats and Restraints
Pull up on the latch plate to
make sure it is secure. If the belt
is not long enough, seeSafety
Belt Extender on page 3‑24.
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 Adjuster”
later in this section for
instructions on use and
important safety information.
5. To make the lap part tight, pullup 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. Slide
the latch plate up the safety belt
webbing when the safety belt is not
in use. The latch plate should rest
on the stitching on the safety belt,
near the guide loop on the side wall.
Before a door is closed, be sure the
belt is out of the way. If a door is
slammed against a safety belt,
damage can occur to both the belt
and the vehicle.