CADILLAC XLR 2006 1.G Owner's Manual

Q:What is 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 would not 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 x 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 do not 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.
The best way to protect the fetus is to protect the mother.
When a safety belt is worn properly, it is more likely that
the fetus will not be hurt in a crash. For pregnant women,
as for anyone, the key to making safety belts effective is
wearing them properly.
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Passenger Position
To learn how to wear the passenger’s safety belt
properly, seeDriver Position on page 1-10.
The 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.
Safety Belt Pretensioners
Your vehicle has safety belt pretensioners for the driver
and right front passenger. Although you cannot see
them, they are located on the buckle end of the safety
belts. They help the safety belts reduce a person’s
forward movement in a moderate to severe frontal and
near frontal crash.
Pretensioners work only once. If they activate in a
crash, you will need to get new ones, and probably other
new parts for your safety belt system. SeeReplacing
Restraint System Parts After a Crash on page 1-46.
Safety Belt Extender
If the vehicle’s safety belt will fasten around you,
you should use it.
But if a safety belt is not long enough, your dealer will
order you an extender. It is free. When you go in to
order it, take the heaviest coat you will wear, so
the extender will be long enough for you. To help avoid
personal injury, do not let someone else use it, and
use it only for the seat it is made to t. The extender
has been designed for adults. Never use it for securing
child seats. To wear it, just attach it to the regular
safety belt. For more information, see the instruction
sheet that comes with the extender.
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Child Restraints
Older Children
Older children who have outgrown booster seats should
wear the vehicle’s safety belts.
Q:What is the proper way to wear safety belts?
A:If possible, an older child should wear a
lap-shoulder belt and get the additional restraint
a shoulder belt can provide. The shoulder belt
should not cross the face or neck. The lap
belt should t snugly below the hips, just touching
the top of the thighs. It should never be worn
over the abdomen, which could cause severe or
even fatal internal injuries in a crash.
In a crash, children who are not buckled up can strike
other people who are buckled up, or can be thrown
out of the vehicle. Older children need to use safety
belts properly.
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{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same belt.
The belt can not properly spread the impact
forces. In a crash, the two children can be
crushed together and seriously injured. A belt
must be used by only one person at a time.
Q:What if a child is wearing a lap-shoulder belt,
but the child is so small that the shoulder belt
is very close to the child’s face or neck?
A:Move the child toward the center of the vehicle, but
be sure that the shoulder belt still is on the child’s
shoulder, so that in a crash the child’s upper
body would have the restraint that belts provide.
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{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here a child is sitting in a seat that has a
lap-shoulder belt, but the shoulder part is
behind the child. If the child wears the belt in
this way, in a crash the child might slide under
the belt. The belt’s force would then be applied
right on the child’s abdomen. That could cause
serious or fatal injuries.The lap portion of the belt should be worn low and snug
on the hips, just touching the child’s thighs. This applies
belt force to the child’s pelvic bones in a crash.
Infants and Young Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! This includes
infants and all other children. Neither the distance
traveled nor the age and size of the traveler changes
the need, for everyone, to use safety restraints. 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.
{CAUTION:
Children can be seriously injured or strangled if
a shoulder belt is wrapped around their neck
and the safety belt continues to tighten. Never
leave children unattended in a vehicle and never
allow children to play with the safety belts.
Every time infants and young children ride in vehicles,
they should have the protection provided by appropriate
restraints. Young children should not use the vehicle’s
adult safety belts alone, unless there is no other choice.
Instead, they need to use a child restraint.
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{CAUTION:
People should never hold a baby in their arms
while riding in a vehicle. A baby does not
weigh much — until a crash. During a crash a
baby will become so heavy it is not possible
to hold it. For example, in a crash at only
25 mph (40 km/h), a 12 lb (5.5 kg) baby will
suddenly become a 240 lb (110 kg) force on
a person’s arms. A baby should be secured
in an appropriate restraint.
{CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to,
any airbag when it inates can be seriously
injured or killed. Airbags plus lap-shoulder
belts offer protection for adults and older
children, but not for young children and
infants. Neither the vehicle’s safety belt system
nor its airbag system is designed for them.
Young children and infants need the protection
that a child restraint system can provide.
1-21

Q:What are the different types of add-on child
restraints?
A:Add-on child restraints, which are purchased by
the vehicle’s owner, are available in four basic
types. Selection of a particular restraint should
take into consideration not only the child’s weight,
height and age but also whether or not the
restraint will be compatible with the motor vehicle
in which it will be used.
For most basic types of child restraints, there are
many different models available. When purchasing
a child restraint, be sure it is designed to be
used in a motor vehicle. If it is, the restraint will
have a label saying that it meets federal motor
vehicle safety standards.
The restraint manufacturer’s instructions that come
with the restraint state the weight and height
limitations for a particular child restraint. In addition,
there are many kinds of restraints available for
children with special needs.
{CAUTION:
Newborn infants need complete support,
including support for the head and neck.
This is necessary because a newborn infant’s
neck is weak and its head weighs so much
compared with the rest of its body. In a crash,
an infant in a rear-facing seat settles into
the restraint, so the crash forces can be
distributed across the strongest part of an
infant’s body, the back and shoulders. Infants
always should be secured in appropriate
infant restraints.
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{CAUTION:
The body structure of a young child is quite
unlike that of an adult or older child, for whom
the safety belts are designed. A young child’s
hip bones are still so small that the vehicle’s
regular safety belt may not remain low on the
hip bones, as it should. Instead, it may settle
up around the child’s abdomen. In a crash,
the belt would apply force on a body area that
is unprotected by any bony structure. This
alone could cause serious or fatal injuries.
Young children always should be secured in
appropriate child restraints.
Child Restraint Systems
An infant car bed (A), a special bed made for use in a
motor vehicle, is an infant restraint system designed
to restrain or position a child on a continuous at
surface. Make sure that the infant’s head rests toward
the center of the vehicle.
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A rear-facing infant seat (B) provides restraint with
the seating surface against the back of the infant.
The harness system holds the infant in place and,
in a crash, acts to keep the infant positioned in
the restraint.A forward-facing child seat (C-E) provides restraint for
the child’s body with the harness and also sometimes
with surfaces such as T-shaped or shelf-like shields.
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