CADILLAC CATERA 2001 1.G Owner's Guide

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3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don't 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.4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
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.

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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, or
if you pull the belt very quickly out of the retractor.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, press down on the arrow symbol and
move the height adjuster to the desired position. You can
move the adjuster up just by pushing up on the bottom
of the height adjuster. After you move the adjuster to
where you want it, try to move it down without pushing
in 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 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.
Air Bag Systems
This part explains the frontal and side impact air
bag systems.
Your vehicle has air bags
-- a frontal air bag for
the driver and another frontal air bag for the right
front passenger. Your vehicle may also have side impact air bags
-- a
side impact air bag for the driver and another side
impact air bag for the right front passenger.
If your vehicle has side impact air bags, it will say
AIRBAG on the air bag covering on the side of the
driver's and right front passenger's seatback closest
to the door.
Frontal air bags are designed to help reduce the risk
of injury from the force of an inflating frontal air bag.
But these air bags must inflate very quickly to do their
job and comply with federal regulations.

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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.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
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
bags for the driver and right front passenger
are designed to inflate only in moderate to
severe crashes where something hits the
side of your vehicle. They aren'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.

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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. Front occupants should not lean on or
sleep against the door.
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.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
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, 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.