belt CADILLAC DEVILLE 1997 7.G Owner's Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
In moderate to severe side
collisions, even belted occupants can contact the inside
of the vehicle. 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 the frontal
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. Side impact air bags would not help you in
many types of collisions, including frontal or near
frontal collisions, rollovers, and rear impacts, primarily
because an occupant’s motion is not toward those air
bags. 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 for
the driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal air bags,
and only in moderate to severe side collisions for the
driver’s and right front passenger’s side impact air bags.
What will you see after an air bag inflates?
After an air bag inflates, it quickly deflates, so quickly
that some people may not even realize the air bag
inflated. Some components of the
air bag module -- the
steering wheel hub for the driver’s
air bag, the
instrument panel for the right front passenger’s bag, the
door for the driver and right front passenger’s side
impact air bags
-- will be hot for a short time. The parts
of the bag that come into contact with you may be
warm, but not too hot to touch. There will be some
smoke and dust coming from the vents
in the deflated
air bags. Air bag inflation doesn’t prevent the driver
from seeing or being able to steer the vehicle, nor does it
stop people from leaving the vehicle.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine A CAUTION:
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 a door.
Your vehicle has a feature that will automatically unlock
the doors and
turn the interior lamps on when air bags
inflate
(if battery power is available). You can lock the
doors again and turn the interior lamps off by using the
door lock and interior lamp controls.
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 air bag.
Air bags are designed to inflate only once. After an
air bag inflates, 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.
0 Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing and
diagnostic module, which records information about
the frontal 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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Center Passenger Position
n
U
Lap Belt
If your vehicle has a front split seat and a rear bench
seat, someone
can sit in the center positions.
When you sit in a center seating position, you have a lap
safety belt, which has
no retractor. To make the belt
longer, tilt the latch plate and pull it along the belt.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Buckle, 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.
Rear Seat Passengers
It’s very important for rear seat passengers to buckle up!
Accident statistics show that unbelted people in the rear seat are hurt more often
in crashes than those who are
wearing safety belts.
Rear passengers who aren’t safety belted can
be thrown
out of the vehicle in a crash. And they can strike others
in the vehicle who are wearing safety belts.
To make the belt shorter, pull its free end as shown until
the belt
is snug.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions
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Lap-Shoulder Belt
The positions next to the windows have lap-shoulder
belts. Here’s how to wear one properly.
1. 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.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine If the belt stops before it reaches the buckle, tilt the latch
plate and keep pulling until you can buckle
it.
Pull up on the latch plz-te to make sure it is secure.
If the belt is not 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.
1
3. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end
of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder part.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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 a crash,
or if you pull the belt very quickly out of the retractor.
/! CAUT,,A
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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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! That includes
infants and all children smaller than adult size. 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.
Smaller Children and Babies
A CAUTION:
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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Child Restraints
Be sure the child restraint is designed to be used in a
vehicle.
If it is, it will have a label saying that it meets
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
Then follow the instructions for the restraint. You may
find these instructions on the restraint itself or in a
booklet, or both. These restraints use the belt system in
your vehicle, but the child also has to be secured within
the restraint to help reduce the chance of personal injury.
The instructions that come with the infant
or child
restraint will show you how to do that.
Where to Put the Restraint
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear rather than the front seat. We at
General Motors therefore recommend that you put your
child restraint in the rear seat.
Never put a rear-facing
child restraint in the front passenger seat. Here’s why:
/! CAI, LION:
A child in a rearfacing child restraint can be
seriously injured if the right front passenger’s
air bag inflates. This is because the back of a
rear-facing child restraint would be very close to
the inflating air bag. Always secure a rear-facing
child restraint in the rear seat.
You may, however, secure a forward-facing child
restraint in the right front seat. Before you secure
a forward-facing child restraint, always move the
front passenger seat as far back as it will go. Or,
secure the child restraint in the rear seat.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Canadian law requires that child restraints have a top
strap, and that the strap be anchored.
If your child restraint has
a top strap, your dealer can
obtain
a kit with anchor hardware and installation
instructions specifically designed for this vehicle. The
dealer can then install the anchor for you. In Canada,
this work will be done for
you free of charge. Or, you
may install the anchor yourself using the instructions
provided in the kit.
Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear
Outside Seat Position
U
You’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt. See the earlier part
about the top strap if the child restraint has one.
1. Put the restraint on the seat. Follow the instructions
for the child restraint.
2. Secure the child in the child restraint as the
instructions say.
3. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder
portions
of the vehicle’s safety belt through or
around the restraint. The child restraint instructions
will show
you how.
Tilt the latch plate to adjust the belt if needed.
If the shoulder belt goes in front
of the child’s face or
neck, put it behind the child restraint.
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