CHEVROLET AVEO 2004 1.G Owner's Guide

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 would 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 is a sudden stop or a crash,
or if you pull the belt very quickly out of the retractor.
{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 t against your body.
To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
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Center Rear Passenger Position
Your vehicle has a removable safety belt in the center
rear seating position.
To install the center rear safety belt, use the following
instructions.
1. Pull the center rear safety belt from the retractor.
2. Push the latch plate at the end of the safety
belt strap into the buckle with the black release
button until the mechanism clicks. Make sure the
strap is not twisted. The sliding latch plate will face
the front of the vehicle.
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3. Insert the upper part of
the safety belt into the
safety belt guide.
Make sure the safety
belt is not twisted.
To learn how to use the safety belt once it is installed,
see “Lap-Shoulder Belt” underRear Seat Passengers on
page 1-23. The installed safety belt works the same
way as the safety belt in the rear outside seat positions.Safety Belt Pretensioners
Your vehicle has safety belt pretensioners for the driver
and right front passenger. They help the safety belts
reduce a person’s forward movement in a moderate
to severe crash in which the front of the vehicle
hits something.
Pretensioners work only once. If they activate in a
crash, you’ll need to get new ones, and probably other
new parts for your safety belt system. SeeReplacing
Restraint System Parts After a Crash on page 1-59.
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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 fit 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.
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear seat.
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’t 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:If the child is sitting in a seat next to a window,
move the child toward the center of the vehicle.
If the child is sitting in the center rear seat
passenger position, move the child toward the
safety belt buckle. In either case, 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
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
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.
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 doesn’t weigh
much — until a crash. During a crash a baby will
become so heavy it is not possible to hold it.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
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.
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{CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to,
any air bag when it inates can be seriously
injured or killed. Air bags plus lap-shoulder
belts offer outstanding protection for adults
and older children, but not for young children
and infants. 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.
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.
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{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.
{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’s
unprotected by any bony structure. This alone
could cause serious or fatal injuries. Young
children always should be secured in
appropriate child restraints.
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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 flat
surface. Make sure that the infant’s head rests toward
the center of the vehicle.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.
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