belt BUICK REGAL 1996 User Guide

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 enou,gh, 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.
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 :It He at Adjuster (4-DOOr : Idels) To move it down, squeeze the release lever and move
Before you begin
to drive, move the shoulder belt
adjuster
to the height that is right for you. 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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@ What’s wrong with this?
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.
A: The shoulder belt is too loose. It won’t give nearly
as much protection this way.
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What’s wrong with this?
A: The belt is buckled in the wrong place.
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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&: 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 internaI 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?
A : The belt is twisted across the body.
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.
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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A 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.
AIR BAG 0.
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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How does an air bag restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or
the
instrument panel. The air bag supplements the protection
provided by safety belts. Air bags distribute the force
of
the impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper body,
stopping the occupant more gradually. But air bags would
not help you
in many types of collisions, including
rollovers, rear impacts and side impacts, primarily because
an occupant’s motion is not toward the air bag. Air bags
should never be regarded as anything more than
a
supplement to safety belts, and then only in moderate
to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions.
What will you see after an air bag inflates?
After the air bag inflates, it quickly deflates. This occurs
so quickly that some people may not even realize the air
bag inflated. Some components of the air bag module
in
the steering wheel hub for the driver’s air bag, or the
instrument panel for the right front passenger’s bag, will
be hot for
a short time. The part of the bag that comes
into contact with you may be warm, but
it will never be
too hot to touch. There will be some smoke and dust
coming from vents
in the deflated air bags. Air bag
inflation will not prevent the driver from seeing or from
being able to steer the vehicle, nor will
it stop people
from leaving the vehicle.
When an air bag inflates, there is dust in the air.
This dust could cause breathing problems for
people with a history of asthma or other
breathing trouble.
To avoid this, everyone in the
vehicle should get out as soon as
it is safe to do so.
If you have breathing problems but can’t get out
of the vehicle after an air bag inflates, then get
fresh air by opening a window or door.
In many crashes severe enough to inflate an air bag,
windshields are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may
also occur from the
right front passenger’s air bag.
The air bags are designed to inflate only once. After
they inflate, you’ll need some new parts for your air
bag system. If you don’t get them, the air bag system
won’t be there to help protect you
in another crash.
A new system will include air bag modules and
possibly other parts. The service manual for your
vehicle covers the need to replace other parts.
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0 Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing and
diagnostic module, which records information about
the air bag system. The module records information
about the readiness
of the system, when the sensors are
activated and driver’s safety belt usage at deployment.
Let only qualified technicians work on your air bag
system. Improper service can mean that your air bag
system won’t work properly. See your dealer for service
NOTICE:
If you damage the cover for the driver’s or the
right front passenger’s air bag, they may not
work properly. You may have to replace the air
bag module in the steering wheel
or both the air
bag module and the instrument panel for the
right front passenger’s air bag.
Do not open or
break the air bag covers.
Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped Buick
Air bags affect how your Buick should be serviced.
There are parts
of the air bag system in several places
around your vehicle.
You don’t want the system to
inflate while someone
is working on your vehicle.
Your Buick dealer and the Regal Service Manual have
information about servicing your vehicle and the air bag
system.
To purchase a service manual, see “Service and
Owner Publications” in the Index.
A CAUTION -
-
For up to 10 seconds after the ignition key is
turned off and the battery is disconnected, an air
bag can still inflate during improper service.
You
can be injured if you are close to an air bag when
it inflates. Avoid wires wrapped with yellow tape
or yellow connectors. They are probably part of
the air bag system. Be sure to follow proper
service procedures, and make sure the person
performing work for you is qualified to do
so.
The air bag system does not need regular maintenance.
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