belt CHEVROLET CAMARO 1993 User Guide

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or the instrument panel ... 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.
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Seats & Safety Belts
Q: Why don’t they just put in air bags
so people won’t have to wear safety
belts?
Restraint systems, are 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 required 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.
A: “Air bags,” or Supplemental Intlatable
---2o
Q: If I’m a good driver, and I never
drive far from home, why should
I
wear safety belts?
A: You may be an excellent driver, but if
you’re in an accident - even one that
isn’t your fault
- you and your
passengers can be hurt. Being
a good
driver doesn’t protect you from things
beyond your control, such
as bad
drivers.
Most accidents occur
within 25 miles
(40 km) of home. And the greatest
number
of serious injuries and deaths
occur at speeds
of less than 40 mph
(65 km/h).
Safety belts are for everyone.
Safety Belt Reminder
Light
When the key is turned to Run or Start,
a light will come on for about eight
seconds to remind people
to fasten their
safety belts. Unless the driver’s safety belt
is buckled, a chime will also sound.
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How to Wear Safety
Belts Properly
Adults
This section is only for people of adult
size.
1 CAUTION:
11 A There are special things to
A know about safety belts and
children.
And there are different
rules for babies and smaller
children.
If a child will be riding in
your Chevrolet, see the section after
this one, called “Children.” Follow
those rules for everyone’s
protection.
I
First, you’ll want to know which restraint
systems your vehicle has.
We’ll start with the driver position.
Driver Position
This section describes the driver’s
-%raint system.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
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.
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Seats 8t Safety Belts
3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the
belt across you. Don’t
let it get
twisted.
4. Push the latch plate into the buckle
until it clicks.
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.
5. To make the lap part tight, pull down
on the buckle end of the belt as you
pull up on the shoulder belt.
If the shoulder belt is too tight, move the
shoulder belt
to the upper or lower guide
loop. Choose the one that makes the
shoulder belt more comfortable.
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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 tc
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
r
H
Q: What’s wrong with this?
A: The shoulder belt is too loose. It won’t
give nearly as much protection this
way.
II CAUTION:
serious or even fatal injuries. The You can be seriously hurt if
shoulder belt should go over the shoulder I I - lur shoulder belt is too loose.
and across the chest. These parts
of the In a &ash you would move forward
body are best able to take belt restraining
I I too much, which could increase
I
forces.
The safety belt locks
if
stop or crash. there’s
a sudden injury.
The shoulder belt should
fit
against your body. I
I
Q: What’s wrong with this?
A: The belt is buckled in the wrong
place.
A You can be seriously injured if
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.
L your belt is buckled in the
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Selts & 9fety Belts
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.
I
PAIITlnN~ Q: What’s wrong with this?
A: The belt is twisted across the body.
A You can be seriously qurea 11
&- you wear the shoulder belt
under
your arm. In a crash, your
body would move too far fo-rward,
which would increase the chance
of ’r, You can be seriously injured by
head and neck injury.
Also, the belt - a twisted belt. In a crash, you
would apply too much force to the wouldn-t have the full width of the
ribs, which aren’t
as strong as belt to spread impact forces. If a belt
shoulder bones.
You could also is twisted, make it straight so it can
severely injure internal organs like work properly,
or ask your dealer to
your liver or spleen. 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.
YOU NEED YOUR ! AND HERE’S WHY: ELT, EVEN W AN AIR BAG.
-
Supplemental Inflatable
Restraint System (Air
Bags)
This section explains the Supplemental
Inflatable Restraint (SIR), or “air bag,”
system. Your Chevrolet has an air bag
for both the driver and the right-front
passenger. Here’s
the most important thing to know: I 1
~~
I A Even with an air bag, if you’re
- L not wearing a safety belt and
you’re in a crash, your injuries may
be much worse. Air bags are not
designed
to inflate in rollovers or in
rear, side or low-speed frontal
crashes. You need to wear your
safety belt to reduce
the chance of
hitting things inside the vehicle or
being ejected from
it. Always wear
your safety belt, even with an air
I
25. - -
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Seats & Safety Belts
A mr Dags inflate wltn great
b L force, faster than the blink of
ull eye. If you’re too close to an
inflating air bag,
it could seriously
injure
you. Safety belts help keep
you in position for an air bag
inflation in a crash. Always wear
your safety
belt, even with an air
bag, and the driver should sit as far
back as possible while still
maintaining control of the vehicle.
An mtlating air bag can
L seriously injure small children.
Always secure chiidren properly
in
your vehicle. To read how, see the
“‘Children and Safety Belts” section
of this manual, and read the caution
label on the front-passenger’s safety
belt.
I
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r
Air Bag System Light
There is an air bag readiness light on the
instrument panel,
which has AIR BAG
on it. The system checks itself and the
light tells you
if there is a problem.
You
will see this light flash for a few
seconds when you turn your ignition to
Run or Start. Then the light should go
out, which means the system is ready.
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Seats & Safety Belts
When is an air bag expected to inflate?
The air bag is designed to inflate in
moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal
crashes. The air bag will only inflate
if
the velocity of the impact is above the
designed threshold level. When impacting straight into a wall that does not move or
deform, the threshold level for most
GM vehicles is between 9 and 14 mph
(14 and 23 km/h). However, this velocity
threshold depends
on the vehicle design
and may be several miles-per-hour faster
or slower. In addition, this threshold
velocity
will be considerably higher if the
vehicle strikes an object such as a parked
car which will move and deform on
impact. The air bag
is also not designed to inflate
in rollovers, side impacts, or rear
impacts where the inflation would provide
no occupant protection benefit.
In any particular crash, the determination
of whether the air bag should have
inflated cannot be based solely on the
level of damage on the vehicle(s).
Inflation is determined by the angle of the
impact and the vehicle’s deceleration, of
which vehicle damage is only one
indication. Repair cost
is not a good
indicator of whether an air bag should
have deployed.
What makes an air bag inflate?
In a frontal or near-frontal impact of
sufficient severity, sensors strategical
located on the vehicle detect that the
vehicle is suddenly stopping as a result of
a crash. These sensors complete an
electrical circuit, triggering a chemical
reaction of the sodium azide sealed
in the
inflator. The reaction produces nitrogen
gas, which inflates a cloth bag. The
inflator, cloth bag, and related hardware
are all part
of the air bag inflator modules
packed inside the steering wheel and
in
the instrument panel in front of the
passenger.
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How does an air bag restrain?
[n moderate to severe frontal or
near-frontal collisions,
even belted
occupants can contact
the steering wheel
or the instrument panel. 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 air bags
would not provide protection in many
types of collisions, including rollovers
and rear and side impacts, primarily
because an occupant’s motion
is not
toward
the air bag. Air bags should never
be regarded as anything more than a
supplement to safety belt protection
in
moderate to severe frontal and
near-frontal collisions.
What will you see after an air bag
inflation?
After the air bag has inflated, it will then
quickly deflate. This occurs
so quickly
that some people may not even realize
that the air bag inflated. The air bag will
not impede the driver’s vision or ability
to steer the vehicle, nor will
it hinder the
occupants from exiting the vehicle. There
will be small amounts of smoke coming
from vents
in the deflated air bags. Some
components of the air bag module
in the
steering wheel hub for the driver’s air bag
or the instrument panel for the
passenger’s bag may be hot for a short
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t
t
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ime, but the portion of the bag that comes
nto contact with you will not be hot to
he touch. The nitrogen gas used to inflate _._ .~ ~
he air bag will have vented into the
Iassenger compartment, and the bag will
Je deflated within seconds after the
:ollision. Nitrogen makes
up about 80%
3f the air we breathe and is not hazardous.
As the nitrogen vents from the bag, small
particles are also vented into the
passenger compartment.
In many crashes severe enough to inflate
an air bag, windshields are broken by
vehicle deformation. Additional
windshield breakage may occur
in
vehicles with passenger air bags because
the windshield acts as a reaction surface
.~~ ~
for the inflating air bag. 29-9.
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