CHEVROLET CAMARO 1997 4.G Owner's Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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 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.
&: If my vehicle has air bags, why should I have to
wear safety belts?
&: 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 kmh).
Safety belts are for everyone.
A: Air bags are in many vehicles today and will
be in most 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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
Adults
This part is only for people of adult size.
Be aware that there are special things to
know about safety
belts and children. And there are different rules for smaller
children and babies.
If a child will be riding in your
Chevrolet,
see the part of this manual called “Children.”
Follow those rules for everyone’s protection.
First, you’ll want
to know which restraint systems your
vehicle has.
We’ll start with the driver position.
Driver Position
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.
This part describes the driver’s restraint system.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let it get twisted.
On convertible models, 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.
4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks. If
the belt stops before it reaches the buckle, tilt
the
latch plate and keep pulling until you can buckle
the belt.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 5. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end
of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder belt. 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 crash.
On convertible models, the safety belt also locks
if you
pull the belt very quickly out
of the retractor.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Q: What's wrong with this?
A: The shoulder belt is too loose. It won't give nearly
as
much protection this way.
A 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 fit against your body.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine @ What's wrong with this?
r
A: The belt is buckled in the wrong place.
r-
' You can be seriously injured if your belt is
buckled in the 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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine &.' What's wrong with this?
I I I 1 I I I I I I I I
A: The shoulder belt is worn under the arm. It should
be worn over the shoulder at all
times.
You can be seriously injured if you wear the
shoulder belt under your arm.
In a crash, your
body would move too far forward, which would
increase the chance
of head and neck injury.
Also, the belt would apply too much force to the
ribs, which aren't
as strong as shoulder bones.
You could also severely injure internal organs
like your liver or spleen.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine @’ What’s wrong with this?
A: The belt is twisted across the body.
You can be seriously injured by a twisted belt. In
a crash, you wouldn’t 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
fix it.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
I
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.
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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
Right Front Passenger Position
The right front passenger’s safety belt works the same
way as the driver’s safety belt. See “Driver Position,”
earlier in this section.
Air Bag System
This part explains the air bag system.
Your Chevrolet has two air bags -- one air bag for the
driver and another air bag
for the right front passenger.
Here are the most important things to know about the air
bag system:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash if
you aren’t wearing your safety belt
-- even if you
have
air bags. Wearing your safety belt during a
crash helps reduce your chance of hitting things
inside the vehicle or being ejected from
it. Air
bags are “supplemental restraints” to the safety
belts. All air bags are designed to work with
safety belts, but don’t replace them. Air bags are
designed to work only in moderate to severe
crashes where the front of your vehicle hits
something. They aren’t designed to inflate at
all in rollover, rear, side or low-speed frontal
crashes. Everyone in your vehicle should wear a
safety belt properly
-- whether or not there’s an
air bag for that person.
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