BUICK PARK AVENUE 1996 Owner's Manual

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’s why
safety belts make such good sense.
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Here Are Questions Many People Ask Q: If I’m a good driver, and I never drive far from
About Safety Belts -- and the Answers home, why should I wear safety belts?
A:
Q:
A:
Won’t I be trapped in the vehicle after an
accident if I’m wearing a safety belt?
You could be -- whether you’re wearing a safety
belt or not. But you can unbuckle a safety belt,
even if you’re upside down. And your chance
of
being conscious during and after an accident, so
you can unbuckle and get out, is much greater if
you are belted.
If my vehicle has air bags, why should I have to
wear safety
belts?
Air bags are in many vehicles today and will
be in most
of them in the future. But they are
supplemental systems only;
so they work with
safety belts -- not instead of them. Every air bag
system ever offered for sale has required the use of
safety belts. Even if you’re in a vehicle
that has air
bags, you still have to buckle up
to get the most
protection. That’s true
not only in frontal collisions,
but especially in side and other collisions.
A: You may be an excellent driver, but if you’re in an
accident
-- even one that isn’t your fault -- you
and your passengers can be hurt. Being a good
driver doesn’t protect you from things beyond your
control, such as bad drivers.
Most accidents occur within
25 miles (40 km) of
home. And the greatest number of serious injuries
and deaths occur at speeds
of less than 40 mph
(65 b/h).
Safety belts are for everyone.
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How cu ear Safety Be,,, +erly
Adult
This part 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 babies.
If a child will be riding in
your Buick, see the part of this manual called “Children.”
Follow those rules for everyone’s protection.
First, you’ll want to know which restraint systems your
vehicle has.
We’ll start with the driver position.
This part describes the driver’s restraint system.
Lap-S----Ider Belt
The driver has a lap-shoulder belt. Here’s how to wear
it properly.
1. Close and lock the door.
2. Adjust the seat (to see how, see “Seats” in the Index)
so you can sit up straight.
3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let
it get twisted.
4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure
it is secure.
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.
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.#!
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.
Shoulder Belt Height Adjuster . .:
Before you begin to drive, move the shoulder belt
adjuster to the height that is right
for you.
,.
. -I.
To move it down, squeeze the release handle and move
the height adjuster to the desired position. You can move
the adjuster up just by pushing
up on the bottom of the
release handle. After you move the adjudter to where
you want
it, try to move it down without squeezing the
release handle to make sure it
has locked into position.
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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.
@’ What’s wrong with this?
A: The shoulder belt is too loose. It won’t give nearly
as much protection
this way.
I
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?
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.
A: The belt is buckled in the wrong place.
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@ What’s wrong with this?
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.
A: The shoulder belt is worn under the arm. It should
be worn over the shoulder at all times.
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&.’ What’s wrong with this?
L
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.
A: The belt is twisted across the body.
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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.
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)
This part explains the Supplemental Restraint System
(SRS)
or air bag system. Your
Buick has two air bags
-- one air bag for the driver
and another air bag for the right front passenger.
Here are the most important things to know about the air
bag system:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash if
you aren’t wearing your safety belt
-- even if you
have an air bag. Wearing your safety belt during
a
crash helps reduce your chance of hitting things
inside the vehicle
or being ejected from it. The air
bag is only
a “supplemental restraint.” That is, it
works with safety belts but doesn’t replace them.
Air bags 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.
Everyone in your vehicle, including the driver,
should wear
a safety belt properly -- whether or
not there’s an
air bag for that person.
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‘! CAUTION:
‘Air bags inflate with great force, faster than the
blink of an eye.
If you’re too close to an inflating
air bag, it could seriously. injure you. Safety belts
help keep you in position for an air bag inflation
in
a crash. Always wear your safety belt, even -
with an air bag. The driver should sit as far back
as possible while still maintaining control of
the vehicle.
An inflating air bag can seriously injure small
children. Always secure children properly in your
vehicle.
To read how, see, the part of this manual
called “Children” and the caution label on the
right front passenger’s safety belt.
/I LAUTION: ‘I
AIR BAG
AIR
BAG
There is an air bag readiness light on the instrument
panel, which shows
AIR BAG.
The system checks the air bag’s electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical
problem. See
“Air Bag Readiness Light” in the Index
for more information.
-
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