CHEVROLET CORVETTE 1998 5.G Owner's Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Don’t let anyone ride where he or she can’t wear
a safety belt properly.
If you are in a crash and
you’re not wearing
a safety belt, your injuries
can be much worse. You can hit things inside the
vehicle or be ejected from it. You can be seriously
injured or killed. In the same crash, you might
not be if you are buckled up. Always fasten your
safety belt, and check that your passenger’s belt
is fastened properly too.
Your vehicle has a light that
comes on as a reminder to
buckle up. (See “Safety
Belt Reminder Light” in
the Index.)
In most states and Canadian provinces, the law says to
wear safety belts. Here’s why:
They work.
You never know if you’ll be in a crash. If you do have a
crash, you don’t know if it will be a bad one.
A few crashes are mild, and some crashes can be so
serious that even buckled up a person wouldn’t survive.
But most crashes are in between.
In many of them, people
who buckle up can survive and sometimes walk away.
Without belts
they could have been badly hurt or killed.
After more than 30 years of safety belts in vehicles,
the facts are clear. In most crashes buckling up does
matter
... a lot!
It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo area,
inside or outside of a vehicle. In
a collision,
people riding in these areas are more likely to be
seriously injured or killed.
Do not allow people to
ride in any area of your vehicle that is not
equipped with seats and safety belts. Be sure
everyone in your vehicle
is in a seat and using a
safety belt properly.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Why Safety Belts Work
When you ride in or on anything, you go as fast as
it goes.
Take the simplest vehicle. Suppose it's just
a seat
on wheels.
Put someone on it.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine c
Get it up to speed. Then stop the vehicle. The rider
doesn’t stop. The person keeps going
until stopped by something.
In
a real vehicle, it could be the windshield ...

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Here Are Questions Many People Ask
About Safety Belts -- and the Answers
Qt 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.
Qt If my vehicle has air bags, why should I have to
wear safety belts?
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.
&t 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 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 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.
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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 ridmg in your
vehicle, 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
This part describes the driver’s restraint 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.
3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let it get twisted.
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. See “Lap Belt Cinch Feature” in
the Index.
4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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. 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.
Lap Belt Cinch Feature
If you do not want the lap belt to move freely, pull the
lap belt out all the way to set the lock. To permit the lap
belt to move freely again, unbuckle the belt, let it retract
all the way, and buckle up again.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine @ 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
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?
I I I I I I I I !
A: The belt is buckled in the wrong place.
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.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Qt What’s wrong with this?
~
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.
A: The shoulder belt is worn under the arm. It should
be
worn over the shoulder at all times.
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