belt BUICK CENTURY 2000 User Guide

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Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
If the belt isn't long enough, see ªSafety Belt
Extenderº 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.
5. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder belt.
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 crash, or
if you pull the belt very quickly out of the retractor.

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Shoulder Belt Height Adjuster
Before you begin to drive, move the shoulder belt
adjuster to the height that is right for you.To move it down, squeeze the release lever and the
shoulder belt guide as shown and move the height
adjuster to the desired position. You can move the
adjuster up just by pushing up on the shoulder belt
guide. After you move the adjuster to where you want it,
try to move it down without squeezing the release lever
to make sure it has locked into position.
Adjust the height so that the shoulder portion of the
belt is centered on your shoulder. The belt should be
away from your face and neck, but not falling off
your shoulder.

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Q:What's wrong with this?
A:The shoulder belt is too loose. It won't give nearly
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 fit against your body.

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Q:What's wrong with this?
A:The belt is buckled in the wrong place.
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 at the pelvic
bones. This could cause serious internal
injuries. Always buckle your belt into the
buckle nearest you.

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Q:What's wrong with this?
A:The shoulder belt is worn under the arm. It should
be worn over the shoulder at all times.
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 aren't as strong as shoulder bones.
You could also severely injure internal organs
like your liver or spleen.

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Q:What's 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 wouldn't 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.

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To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
The belt should go back out of the way.
Before you close the door, be sure the belt is out of the
way. If you slam the door on it, you can damage both the
belt and your vehicle.
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 don't 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.

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The best way to protect the fetus is to protect the
mother. When a safety belt is worn properly, it's more
likely that the fetus won't 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, see ªDriver Positionº earlier
in this section.
The right front passenger's safety belt works the same
way as the driver's safety belt
-- except for two things.
If the belt stops before it reaches the buckle, tilt the latch
plate and keep pulling until you can buckle the belt.
On some vehicles, if you 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.

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Here are the most important things to know about the air
bag systems:
CAUTION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash if
you aren't wearing your safety belt
-- even if you
have air bags. Wearing your safety belt during a
crash helps reduce your chance of hitting things
inside the vehicle or being ejected from it. Air
bags are ªsupplemental restraintsº to the safety
belts. All air bags are designed to work with
safety belts but don't replace them.
Frontal air bags for the driver and right front
passenger are designed to work only in moderate
to severe crashes where the front of your vehicle
hits something. They aren't designed to inflate at
all in rollover, rear, side or low
-speed frontal
crashes. And, for unrestrained occupants, frontal
air bags may provide less protection in frontal
crashes than more forceful air bags have
provided in the past. The side impact air bag for
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
the driver is designed to inflate only in moderate
to severe crashes where something hits the
driver's side of the vehicle. It isn't designed to
inflate in frontal, in rollover or in rear crashes.
Everyone in your vehicle should wear a safety
belt properly
-- whether or not there's an air bag
for that person.
CAUTION:
Both frontal and side impact air bags inflate with
great force, faster than the blink of an eye. If
you're too close to an inflating air bag, as you
would be if you were leaning forward, it could
seriously injure you. Safety belts help keep you in
position for air bag inflation before and during a
crash. Always wear your safety belt, even with
frontal air bags. The driver should sit as far back
as possible while still maintaining control of the
vehicle, and should not lean on the door.

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CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close to, any
air bag when it inflates can be seriously injured
or killed. Air bags plus lap
-shoulder belts offer
the best protection for adults, 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. To read how, see the part of this manual
called ªChildren.º
There is an air bag
readiness light on the
instrument panel
cluster, which shows
the air bag symbol.
The system checks the air bag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical
problem. See ªAir Bag Readiness Lightº in the Index
for more information.