seats CHEVROLET BLAZER 1993 User Guide

Seats & Safety Belts
1
AM115008
or the safety belts!
With safety belts, you slow down as the vehicle does. You get more time to
stop. You stop over more distance, and your strongest bones take the forces.
That’s why safety belts make such good sense.
Here Are Questions Many People Ask About Safety
Belts-and the Answers
Q: Won’t I be trapped in the vehicle after an accident if I’m wearing a
safety belt?
A: You could be-whether you’re wearing a safety belt or not. But you can
easily unbuckle a safety belt, even
if you’re upside down. And your chance of
being conscious during and after an accident,
so you can unbuckle and get
out, is
much greater if you are belted.
Q: Why don’t they just put in air bags so people won’t have to wear
safety belts?
A: “Air bags,” or Supplemental Inflatable Restraint systems, a\
re in some
vehicles today and
will be in more of them in the future. But they are
supplemental systems only
- so they work with safety belts, not instead of
them. Every “air bag” system ever offered for sale has r\
equired the use of
safety belts. Even if you’re in a vehicle that has “air bags,” you still have to
buckle up to get the most protection. That’s true not only in frontal collisions,
but especially in side and other collisions.
1-1 8

Lap-Shoulder Belt
T
I 1 I I I
AM1 20007
The driver has a lap-shoulder belt. Here’s how to wear it properly.
1. Close and lock the door.
2. Adjust the seat (to see how, see “Seats” in the Index)\
so you can sit
up straight.
1
AN120120
3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you. On some models
you may hear a clicking sound
as the shoulder belt is pulled out or
when released back into the cover. This is the shoulder belt tension
reducing feature operating properly. Don’t let the belt get \
twisted.
4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
1-21

Seats & Safety Belts
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 faces upward or outward
so you
would be able to unbuckle it quickly if you ever had to.
The lap part of the belt should be low and snug on the hips, just touching
the thighs. In a crash, this applies force to the strong pelv\
ic 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.
Q: What’s wrong with this?
AM120015
A: The shoulder belt is too loose. It won’t give nearly as much protection this
way.
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 in\
jury.
The shoulder belt should
fit against your body.
1-22

Seats & Safety Belts
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 vehicl\
e.
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 po\
rtion
should be worn as
low as possible throughout the pregnancy.
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.
1-26

Right Front Passenger Position
K2426
The right front passenger’s safety belt works the same way \
as the driver’s safety belt.
See “Driver Position,” earlier in this section.
When the lap portion
of the belt is pulled out all the way, it will lock. If it
does, let it go back all the way and start again.
Center Passenger Position
(Except Wagon Models Second Seat)
If your vehicle has front and rear bench seats, someone can sit in the center
positions.
1-27

- Seats & Safety Belts
When you sit in the center seating position, (except in the second seat of the
Wagon Models) 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.
I AN145041 AN145043
To make the belt shorter, pull its free end as shown until the belt is snug.
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 faces upward or ou\
tward
so you
would be able to unbuckle
it quickly if you ever had to.
1-28

Seats & Safety Belts
3. Feed the lap belt into the retractor to tighten it.
4. 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 faces upwa\
rd or outward
so you would be able to unbuckle it quickly if you ever had to.
AN145054
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.
1-30

Seats & Safety Belts
AN1 50036
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! That includes infants and all children
smaller than adult size. In fact, the law in every state and Canadian province
says children up to some age must be restrained while in
a vehicle.
Smaller Children and Babies
CAUTION
I A Smaller children and babies should always be restrained in a child or
b 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.
I
134

Seats & Safety Belts
Child Restraints
Be sure to 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 unless the child is an infant
and you’re the only adult in the vehicle. In that case, you might want to
secure the restraint in the front seat where you can keep an \
eye
on the
baby.
Wherever
you install it, be sure to secure the child restraint properly.
CAUTION
I A An unsecured child restraint can move around in a collision or
A sudden stop and injure people in the vehicle. Be sure to properly
secure any child restraint in your vehicle-even when no child is in
it.
Top Strap
AN1 55001
If your child restraint has a top strap, it should be anchored. If you need to
have an anchor installed, you can ask your
GM dealer to put it in for you. If
you want to install an anchor yourself, your dealer can tell you how to do it.
1-36

Seats & Safety Belts
4. Run the lap part through or around the restraint. The child restraint
instructions will show
you how. See if the shoulder belt would go in front
of the child’s face or neck. If so, put it behind the child restraint.
AN1 60136 AN160062
5. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button faces upward or \
outward,
6. To tighten the belt, pull up on the shoulder belt while you push down on
so you’ll be able to unbuckle it quickly if you ever need to.
the child restraint.
i
:A
AN160067
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different directions to be sure it is
secure.
1-38