CHEVROLET CORVETTE 1993 4.G Owner's Manual

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Seats & Safety Belts
Why Safety Belts Work (CONT.)
4. Put someone on it.
A
7. or the instrument panel. ..
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5. Get it up to speed. Then stop the
‘‘car.” The rider doesn’t stop.
8. or the safety belts!
- x2c
6. The person keeps going until
stopped
by something. In a real
. vehicle, it could be the windshield. ..
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.

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Here Are Questions Many People
Ask About Safety 8elts-
and the Answers
Q; Won’t I be trapped in the vehicle
after an accident if I’m wearing a
safety belt?
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.
.A You cou1d.be-whether you’re
Q: Why don’t they just put in air bags
so people won’t have to wear safety
belts.?
Inflatable 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 t.o buckle up to
get the--most protection. That’s true
not
oniy in frontal collisions, but
especially in side and other
collisions.
A “Air bags,” -or Suppkmehtal
Q: If I’m a good driver, and I never
wL drive far from home, why should I
wear safety belts?
A-Yau may be an excellent driver, but i
you’re in an accident-even one that
isdt your fault-you and your
passenger
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 la> of home. And the
greatest number
of sixious. injuries
and deaths occur at speeds
of less
than
40 mph (65 km/h).
Safety belts are for everyone;
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3
Safety Belt Reminder Light
When- the ley is- turned to Run or Start,
a light yill come on for:about eight
s.eeonds to remind people to fasten their
safety
belts, Unless-the driver’s safety
bekis buckled, a chime will also sound..
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How tu Wear Safety Belts
prOQperly-Adu&8
This-section is .only for pe.ople of adult
size.
.A:
‘There are :-spec-id .things- to
ch.ildren. And there are :dif€erent
rules .for bzibies and smaller
children. If a child will be riding in
your Corvette, see the ln.dex under
Children and Safety Belts. Folluw
-thosemles -€or everyone’s
.protection.
0- know about .safety belts and
First, you’ll want to know which
.restraint systems your vehicle has.
We’ll start with the driver position.

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Driver Position
This section describes the driver's
restraint
system.
LapShoufrter Belt
The driver has alap-shoulder bdt.
Here's
how to wear' it properly.
1. Close and lock the door.
2. Adjust the seat (to see h-ow, see the
Index urider Seat C~ntrols) so you
can sit up straight.
3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the
al belt across you. Don't let it get
twisted.
until it clicks.
4. Push the latch plate into the buckle
If the belt isn't long enough, see the
Index under Safety Belt Extender.
Make sure the release button on the
budkle faces ypward or outward so YOU
would be able to unbudlde. it -quickly if
you ever had to.

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Lap-Shoulder Belt (conrr.)
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 sfid 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.
If-you do not want the lap belt to move
freely, push the “cinch” button. To
loosen the belt, unbuckle it, let it
retract,
and buckle up again.
Q: What’s wrong with this?
.A: The shoulder belt is too loose. It
won’t
give nearly as much protection
this way.
..
You can be seriously. hurt -if. :
your shoulder belt is ,tao
loose. In, a crash you would move
forward too much, which could
significantly increase injury.
‘Thg
shoulder belt should fit against your
body.

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Q: What's wrong with this?
A The belt is buckled in the wrong
place.
A .if. your.belt 'is buckldhthe
wrong place like this. .In a..crish,
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.
you be s&&ly.injured . .
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. .-
- . _. . . . . ., .
You can he seriously injured.
if you wearthe shoulder belt
under
your 'am. 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.
Q: What's wrong with this?
A3The belt is twisted across the body.

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Lap-Shuuider Belt (CONT.)
To unlatch the belt; just push the
button, 00 the. bwckle, The belt should
go back out of the-way.
Before:you close the door, be Sure the
belt is aut of the wqy. If yau slam the
door on it, you can darnage bath the
b,elt and your vehicle.
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SupplementalZn@hble
Restraint ,System. (Air Bag)
This section explabs th.e driver's
Supplemental Inflatable Restraint (SIR)
system, commonly referred to-as an air
bag.
Here are: the Most Important Things
$0 Know:
I CAUTION
P

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A Air Bag System Ugh1
There is an air bag readiness light on
the Driver hfomation Center, which
shows WL. REST (Idlatable
Restraint)'. The system checks itself and
the light tells you if there is a problem.
You d.see this light flash for a few
seconds when you turn your ignition to
Run or Start. Then the tight should go
out, which means the system is ready.
I. .. .. -

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How the Air Bag System Works
Q: Where is the air bag?
A The driver's air bag is in the middle
of the steering wheel.
Q: When is an, air bag expected to
inflate?
A: 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 irito a
wall
that does not move or deform, the
tbeshold level for most GM vehicles
is between 9 and 14 mph (14 and
23 ldh). However, thi,s velocity
threshold depends on
the vehicle
design
and may be several miles-per-
hour faster
or slower. In addition,
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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 impacls where the
inflation would provide no occupant
protection benefit.
In any
particular ;crash, the
determination
of whetherthe ail bag
should have inflated cannot be based
solely on the level of dgrnage 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.
Q: What makes -an air bag inflate?
A: In a.frontal impact of sufficient
severity, sensors strategically located
an the vehicle. detect th& the vehicle
is. suddenly stopping .as a result of a
crash. These sensors complete an
electrical circuit, triggelling-
a
chemical reaction of the sodium-
az-ide sealed in the .inflator. The
reaction produces nitrogen
gas;
which inflates the cloth bag. The
inflator, cloth bag,
and related
hadwareare all
part of the air bag
inflator module packed inside the
steering wheel.

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Q: How does an air bag restrain?
A: In moderate to severe frontal or
near=frontal collisions, even belted
occupants
can contact the steering
wheel. 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 hoderate to
severe frontal
and near-frontal
collisions.
Q: What wiu you see after an air bag
Mation?
A: Mer the air bag has inflated, it will
then quickly
deffate. This occurs so
quickly that some people may not
even realize that the air bag Sated.
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 bag. Some components
of the air bag module in the steering
wheel
hub may be hot for a short
time, but the portion of the bag that
comes into contact
with you will not
be hot to the touch. The nitrogen gas
used to inflate the air bag will have ventdinto
the passenger
compartment, and the
bag will be
deflated within seconds after the
"collision. Nitrogen makes
up about
80% of the air we breathe and is not
hazardous. As the nitrogen vents
from the bag, small particles we also
vented into the passenger
compartment.
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