OLDSMOBILE BRAVADA 1998 Service Manual

The safety belt locks if there’s a sudden stop or a crash.
The safety belt also locks
if you pull the belt very
quickly out of the retractor.
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.
To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
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Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for Children and Small Adults
Rear shoulder belt comfort guides will provide added
safety belt comfort for children who have outgrown
child restraints and for small adults. When installed on
a
shoulder belt, the comfort guide pulls the belt away
from the neck and head.
There is one guide for each outside passenger position
in
the rear seat. To provide added safety belt comfort for
children who have outgrown child restraints and for
smaller adults, the comfort guides may be installed
on
the shoulder belts. Here’s how to install a comfort guide
and
use the safety belt:
1. Pull the elastic cord out from between the edge of
the seatback and the interior body to remove the
guide from its storage clip.
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2. Slide the guide under and past the belt. The elastic
cord must be under the belt. Then, place the guide
over
the belt, and insert the two edges of the belt into
the slots of the guide.
3. Be sure that the belt is not twisted and it lies flat.
The elastic cord must be under the belt and the guide
on top.
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4. Buckle, position and release the safety belt as
described in “Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions”
earlier
in this section. Make sure that the shoulder
belt crosses the shoulder.
To remove and store the comfort guides, squeeze the
. belt edges together so that you can take them out from
the guides. Pull the guide upward to expose its storage
clip, and then slide the guide onto the clip. Rotate the
guide and clip inward and in between the seatback and
the interior body, leaving only the loop of elastic
cord exposed.
Center Rear Passenger Position
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Lap Belt
When you sit in the center rear seating position, you
have a lap safety belt which has a retractor.
1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let it get twisted.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Pull
up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
4. 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 is positioned so you
would be able
to unbuckle the safety belt quickly if
you ever had to.
3. Feed the lap belt into the retractor to tighten it.
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Children Smaller phildren and Babie
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! That includes
infants and all children smaller than adult size. 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.
/r C."' u HON:
Children who are up against, or very close to, an
air bag when it inflates can be seriously injured
or killed.
Air bags plus lap-shoulder belts offer
the best protection for adults and older children, but not for young children and infants. Neither
the vehicle's safety belt system nor its
air bag
system is designed
for them. Young children and
infants need the protection that a child restraint
system can provide. Always secure children
properly in your vehicle.
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A CAUTIO, 4:
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.
Infants need complete support, including support for
the head and neck. This
is necessary because an 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 restraint settles into the restraint,
so the
crash forces can be distributed across the strongest part
of the infant’s body, the back and shoulders.
A baby
should be secured
in an appropriate infant restraint.
This is
so important that many hospitals today won’t
release
a newborn infdnt to its parents unless there is an
infant restraint available for the baby‘s
first trip in a
motor vehicle.
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I CAUTION:
Never hold a baby in your arms while riding in
vehicle.
A baby doesn’t weigh much 9- until a
crash. During a crash a baby will become
so
heavy you can’t hold it. For example, in a crash
CAUTION: (Continued) at
only 25 mph (40
km/h), a 12-lb. (5.5 kg) baby
will suddenly become a 240-1b.
(110 kg) force on
your arms. The baby would be almost impossible
to hold.
Secure the baby in an infant restraint.
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Child Restraints
Every time infants and young children ride in vehicles, they should have protection provided by appropriate restraints.
What are the different types of add-on
child restraints?
A: Add-on child restraints are available in four basic
types. When selecting a child restraint, take into consideration not only the child's weight and size,
but also whether or not the restraint will be compatible with the motor vehicle in which it
will be used.
An infant car bed
(A) is a special bed made for use
in a motor vehicle. It's an infant restraint system
designed to restrain or position a child on a
continuous flat surface. With an infant car bed,
make sure that the infant's head rests toward the
center of the vehicle.
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A rear-facing infant restraint (B) positions an infant
to face the rear
of the vehicle. Rear-facing infant
restraints are designed for infants
of up to about
20 lbs. (9 kg) and about one year of age. This type
of restraint faces the rear so that the infant’s head,
neck and body can have the support they need
in a
crash.
Some infant seats come in two parts -- the
base stays secured
in the vehicle and the seat part
is removable.
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