BUICK LESABRE 1993 Service Manual
Page 41 of 324
When you sit in a center seating position, you have a lap
safety belt, which has no retractor.
To make the belt
longer, tilt the latch plate and pull it along the belt.
To make the belt shorter, pull its free end as shown until
the belt is snug.
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Buckle, position and release it the same way as the lap
part of a lap-shoulder
belt. If the belt isn’t long enough,
see “Safety Belt Extender” at the end of this section. Make
sure the release button on the buckle faces upward
or outward
so you would be able to unbuckle it quickly
if you ever had to.
Rear Seat Passengers
It’s 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 aren’t 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.
Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions
The positions next to the windows have lap-shoulder
belts. Here’s how
to wear one properly.
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1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Don’t
let it
get twisted.
When the lap belt is pulled
out all the way, it will
lock. If
it does, let it go back all the way and start
again. If the belt
is not long enough, see “Safety Belt
Extender” at the end of this section. Make sure the
release button on the buckle faces upward or
outward
so you would be able to unbuckle it quickly
if you ever had to. 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’d 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’s a sudden stop or a crash.
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/1 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 fit against your body.
0 To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the
buckle.
Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! That includes
infants and all children smaller than adult
size. In fact,
the law in every state and Canadian province says
children up to
some age must be restrained while in a
vehicle.
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Smaller Children and Babies
A CAUTION:
Smaller children and babies should always be
restrained
in a child or infant restraint. The
instructions for the restraint will say whether it is
the right type and size for your child.
A very
young child’s hip bones are
so small that a
regular belt might not stay low on the hips, as it
should. Instead, the belt will likely be over the
child’s abdomen.
In a crash the belt would apply
force right on the child’s abdomen, which could
cause serious or fatal injuries.
So, be sure that
any child small enough for one is always
properly restrained
in a child or infant restraint.
A CAUTION: 0
Never hold a baby in ydur arms while riding in a .
vehicle. A baby doesn’t weigh much - until a crash.
During a crash a baby
will become so heavy you
can’t hold
it. For example, in a crash at only 25 mph
(40 km/h), a 12-pound (5.5 kg) baby will suddenly
become a
240-pound (11 0 kg) force OR your arms.
The baby would be almost impossible to hold.
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CAUTION: (Continued) I --
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Child Restraints
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Be sure to follow the instructions for the restraint. You
may find these instructions on the restraint itself or in a
booklet, or both. These restraints use the belt system in
your vehicle, but the child also has to be secured within
the restraint to help reduce the chance of personal injury.
The instructions
that come with the infant or child
restraint will show you how to do that.
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 at
General Motors therefore recommend that you put your
child restraint
in the rear seat unless the child is an
infant and you’re the only adult in the vehicle. In that
case, you might
want to secure the restraint in the front
seat where you can keep an eye on the baby.
Wherever you install it, be sure
to secure the child
restraint properly.
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A CAUTION:
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.
Top Strap
If your child restraint has a top strap, it should be
anchored.
If you need to have an anchor installed,
you can ask
your Buick dealer to put it in for you. If you want to
install an anchor yourself, your dealer can tell you how
to do it.
Vehicles first sold in Canada have child restraint anchor
bracket hardware in the glove
box, along with
instructions for installing it. This should be used only
with a child restraint, and only to secure a child restraint
at the center rear seating position. Additional anchor
brackets for child restraints at one or both of the rear
outside seating positions are available at Buick
dealerships
in Canada.
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Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear
Outside Position See if the shoulder belt would go in front of the
child’s face or neck. If
so, put it behind the child
restraint.
You’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt. See the earlier
section about the top strap if the child restraint has one.
1. Put the restraint on the seat. Follow the instructions
for the child restraint.
2. Secure the child in the child restraint as the
instructions say.
3. Pull out the vehicle’s safety belt and run the lap part
through or around the restraint. The child restraint
instructions will show you how.
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4. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button faces
upward
or outward, so you'll be able to unbuckle it
quickly
if you ever need to.
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5. Pull the rest of the lap belt all the way out of the
retractor
to set the lock.
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6. To tighten the belt, feed the lap belt into the retractor
while
you push down on the child restraint.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions
to be sure it is secure.
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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Securing a Child Restraint in a Center Seat
Position
When you secure a child restraint in a center seating
position, you'll be using the lap belt.
See the earlier section about the top strap if the child
restraint has one.
1. Make the belt as long as possible by tilting the latch
plate and pulling it along the belt.
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2. Put the restraint on the seat. Follow the instructions
for the child restraint.
3. Secure the child in the child restraint as the
instructions say.
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