belt CHEVROLET EXPRESS 1997 1.G Owner's Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle. A pregnant woman should wear a lap-shoulder belt, and
The belt should
go back out of the way.
the lap portion should be worn as low as possible, below
Before you close the door, be sure the belt is out of the the rounding, throughout the pregnancy.
Way.
If YOU Slam the door on it, YOU can damage both the
The best way to protect the fetus is to protect the
belt and your vehicle. mother. When a safety belt is worn properly, it’s more
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. 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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
When the shoulder belt is pulled out all the
way, it will
lock.
If it does, let it go back all the way and start again.
Supplemental Inflatable Restraint
(SIR) System
This part explains the Supplemental Inflatable Restraint
(SIR) svstem or air bag system.
If it says SUPPLEMENTAL INFLATABLE
RESTRAINT on the middle part of the steering wheel
and SUPPLEMENTAL INFLATABLE RESTRAINT on
the instrument panel
in front of the right front passenger’s
seat, your vehicle has two
air bags -- one air bag for the
driver and another
air bag for the right front passenger.
If it says SUPPLEMENTAL INFLATABLE
RESTRAINT on the middle part of the steering wheel
but it doesn’t say SUPPLEMENTAL INFLATABLE
RESTRAINT on the instrument panel in front of the
right front passenger’s seat, your vehicle has an air bag
for the driver only.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine If it says SUPPLEMENTAL INFLATABLE
RESTRAINT on the middle
part of the steering wheel
but there is no right front passenger’s seat, your vehicle
has an air bag for the driver only.
If it doesn’t say SUPPLEMENTAL INFLATABLE
RESTRAINT on the middle part
of the steering wheel,
your vehicle doesn’t have air bags.
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
CAUTION: (Continued) 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.
Air bags inflate with great force, faster than the
blink of an eye.
If you’re too close to an inflating
air bag, it could seriously injure you. Safety belts
help keep you in position before and during a
crash. Always wear your safety belt, even with air
bags. The driver should sit
as far back as possible
while still maintaining control of the vehicle.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine If your vehicle has an air bag for the right front
passenger, please read this:
a CAW TICl J:
An inflating air bag can seriously injure small
children. Always secure children properly in your vehicle.
To read how, see the part of this manual
called “Children” and the caution label on the
right front passenger’s safety belt.
AIR
BAG
There is an air bag readiness
light on the instrument
panel, which shows
AIR BAG.
The system checks the air bag electrical system Tor
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical
problem. See
“Air Bag Readiness Light” in the Index
for more information.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine How does an air bag restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or the
instrument panel. Air bags supplement 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 help you in many
types of collisions, including
rollovers, rear impacts and side impacts, primarily because
an occupant’s motion is not toward those
air bags. Air
bags should never be regarded as anythmg more than a
supplement to safety belts, and then only in moderate
to
severe frontal or near-frontal collisions.
What will you see after an air bag inflates?
After an air bag inflates, it quickly deflates, so quickly
that some people may not even realize the air bag
inflated. Some components
of the air bag module -- in
the steering wheel hub for the driver’s air bag -- or the
instrument panel for the right front passenger’s bag,
will be
hot for a short time. The parts of the bag that
come into contact with you may be warm, but not
too
hot to touch. There will be some smoke and dust coming
from vents in the deflated air bags. Air bag inflation
doesn’t prevent the driver from seeing or from being
able
to steer the vehicle, nor does it stop people from
leaving the vehicle.
When an air bag inflates, there is dust in the air.
This dust could cause breathing problems for
people with a history
of asthma or other
breathing trouble.
To avoid this, everyone in the
vehicle should get out as soon as it is safe to do
so.
If you have breathing problems but can’t get out
of the vehicle after an air bag inflates, then get
fresh air by opening a window or door.
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Air bags are designed to inflate only once. After they
inflate, you’ll need some new parts for your air bag
system.
If you don’t get them, the air bag system
won’t be there
to help protect you in another crash.
A new system will include air bag modules and
possibly other parts. The service manual for your
vehicle covers the need to replace other parts.
Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing and
diagnostic module, which records information about
the air bag system. The module records information
about
the readiness of the system, when the sensors are
activated and driver’s safety belt usage at deployment.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Adding Equipment to Your Air
Bag-Equipped Vehicle
@’ If I add a push bumper or a bicycle rack to the
front of my vehicle, will it keep the air bags
from working properly?
A: As long as the push bumper or bicycle rack is
attached to your vehicle
so that the vehicle’s basic
structure isn’t changed, it’s not likely to keep the
air bags from working properly in a crash.
@ Is there anything I might add to the front of the
vehicle that could keep the air bags from
working properly?
A: Yes. If you add things that change your vehicle’s
fiame, bumper system, front end sheet metal or
height, they may keep the
air bag system from
working properly.
Also, the air bag system may not
work properly if you relocate any of the
air bag
sensors.
If you have any questions about this, you
should contact Customer Assistance before you
mod@ your vehicle. (The phone numbers and addresses for Customer Assistance are in Step Two of
the Customer Satisfaction Procedure in this manual.
See “Customer Satisfaction Procedure” in the Index.)
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.
Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Lap-Shoulder Belt
The positions next to the windows have lap-shoulder
belts. Here’s how to wear one properly.
1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let it get twisted.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure. When the shoulder belt
is pulled out all the way,
it will
lock. If it does, let it go back all the way and start again.
If the belt is not 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.
3. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end
of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder part.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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 a crash.
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.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Center Passenger Position
To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Lap Belt
If your vehicle has rear bench seats, someone can sit in
the center positions.
When you sit in a center seating position, you have a lap
safety belt, which has no retractor.
To make the belt
longer, tilt the latch plate &d pull it along the belt.
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 buckleis positioned
so you would be able to unbuckle the safety belt quickly
if you ever had to.
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