belt BUICK RANDEZVOUS 2005 Owner's Guide

Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
Safety belts work for everyone, including pregnant
women. Like all occupants, they are more likely to be
seriously injured if they do not wear safety belts.
A pregnant woman should wear a lap-shoulder belt, and
the lap portion should be worn as low as possible,
below the rounding, throughout the pregnancy.
The best way to protect the fetus is to protect the
mother. When a safety belt is worn properly, it is more
likely that the fetus will not be hurt in a crash. For
pregnant women, as for anyone, the key to making
safety belts effective is wearing them properly.
Right Front Passenger Position
To learn how to wear the right front passenger’s safety
belt properly, seeDriver Position on page 1-25.
The right front passenger’s safety belt works the same
way as the driver’s safety belt — except for one
thing. If you ever pull the shoulder portion of the belt out
all the way, you will engage the child restraint locking
feature. If this happens, just let the belt go back all
the way and start again.
Rear Seat Passengers
It is 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 are not 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 is how to wear one properly.
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Lap-Shoulder Belt
1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Do not let it get twisted.
The 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.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.If the belt stops before it reaches the buckle, tilt the
latch plate and keep pulling until you can buckle it.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
If the belt is not long enough, seeSafety Belt
Extender on page 1-42.
Make sure the release button on the buckle is
positioned so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly if you ever had to.
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3. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder part.
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 pelvic bones. And you would 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.
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The safety belt locks if there is a sudden stop or a
crash, or if you pull the belt very quickly out of
the retractor.
{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 against your body.
To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the
buckle.
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Center Rear Passenger Position
Lap-Shoulder Belt
If your vehicle has a bench seat, someone can sit in the
center position.
When you sit in the center seating position, you have a
lap safety belt, which has no retractor. You also
have a shoulder belt, which has a retractor. In order to
have the protection of the shoulder belt, you must
rst connect it to the lap belt.
1. Remove the shoulder belt from its stowage location
in the roof and pull it all the way down to the lap belt.
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2. Insert the metal knob on the shoulder belt into the
keyhole on the lap belt buckle as shown. Be sure to
slide the shoulder belt part into the keyhole until
it locks into place.3. To make the lap belt longer, tilt the latch plate and
pull it along the belt.
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To make the belt shorter, pull its free end as shown
until the belt is snug
4. Buckle, position and release the lap-shoulder belt
the same way as the other lap-shoulder belts. If
the belt is not long enough, seeSafety Belt
Extender on page 1-42.
Make sure the release button on the buckle is positioned
so you would be able to unbuckle the safety belt
quickly if you ever had to.
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
Rear safety belt comfort guides will provide added
safety belt comfort for older children who have outgrown
booster seats and for small adults. When installed on
a shoulder belt, the comfort guide better positions
the belt away from the neck and head.
There is a guide available for the center passenger
position in the second row rear seat. To provide added
safety belt comfort for children who have outgrown child
restraints and booster seats and for smaller adults, the
comfort guides may be installed on the shoulder belts.
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Here is how to install a comfort guide and use the
safety belt:
For second row center position do the following:
1. Remove the elastic cord from under the head
restraint of the second row driver’s side position.2. Attach the elastic cord to the comfort guide on the
center passenger shoulder belt.
Second Row Center Position
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3. Be sure that the belt is not twisted and it lies at.
The guide must be on top of the belt.
4. Buckle, position and release the safety belt as
described inCenter Rear Passenger Position
on page 1-38. Make sure that the shoulder belt
crosses the shoulder.
To remove and store the elastic cord, remove it from
the comfort guide. The elastic cord will go back
under the head restraint.
Safety Belt Pretensioners
Your vehicle has safety belt pretensioners. Although
you cannot see them, they are located on the retractor
part of the safety belts for the driver and right front
passenger. They help the safety belts reduce a person’s
forward movement in a moderate to severe frontal or
near frontal crash.
Pretensioners work only once. If they activate in a
crash, you will need to get new ones, and probably other
new parts for your safety belt system. SeeReplacing
Restraint System Parts After a Crash on page 1-83.
Safety Belt Extender
If the vehicle’s safety belt will fasten around you, you
should use it.
But if a safety belt is not long enough, your dealer will
order you an extender. It is free. When you go in to
order it, take the heaviest coat you will wear, so
the extender will be long enough for you. To help avoid
personal injury, do not let someone else use it, and
use it only for the seat it is made to t. The extender has
been designed for adults. Never use it for securing
child seats. To wear it, just attach it to the regular safety
belt. For more information, see the instruction sheet
that comes with the extender.
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Child Restraints
Older Children
Older children who have outgrown booster seats should
wear the vehicle’s safety belts.
Q:What is the proper way to wear safety belts?
A:If possible, 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. It should never be worn over
the abdomen, which could cause severe or even
fatal internal injuries in a crash.
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear seat.
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.
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