belt CHEVROLET EXPRESS 2002 Owners Manual

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Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
Here you'll find information about the seats in your vehicle and how to use your safety belts properly. You can also
learn about some things you should not do with air bags and safety belts.
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-2 Seats and Seat Controls
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-10 Safety Belts: They're for Everyone
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-15 Here Are Questions Many People Ask About
Safety Belts
-- and the Answers
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-16 How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
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-16 Driver Position
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-24 Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
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-25 Right Front Passenger Position
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-25 Air Bag System
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-34 Rear Seat Passengers1
-36 Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
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-39 Center Passenger Position
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-40 Children
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-46 Restraint Systems for Children
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-61 Older Children
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-64 Safety Belt Extender
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-64 Checking Your Restraint Systems
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-64 Replacing Restraint System Parts
After a Crash

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But don't have a seatback reclined if your vehicle
is moving.
CAUTION:
Sitting in a reclined position when your vehicle is
in motion can be dangerous. Even if you buckle
up, your safety belts can't do their job when
you're reclined like this.
The shoulder belt can't do its job because it
won't be against your body. Instead, it will be
in front of you. In a crash you could go into it,
receiving neck or other injuries.
The lap belt can't do its job either. In a crash the
belt could go up over your abdomen. The belt
forces would be there, not at your pelvic bones.
This could cause serious internal injuries.
For proper protection when the vehicle is in
motion, have the seatback upright. Then sit
well back in the seat and wear your safety
belt properly.

1-5 Rear Seats
Getting Into the Rear Seats
To make it easier for passengers to get into the rear
seats, use the fastener spot on the headliner and safety
belt sleeve. These will keep the safety belts out of the
way while people get into the rear seats.
Removing the Rear Seat
1. Disconnect the quick release latch plates for the
lap shoulder belts on the bench seat to be removed.
To do this, press the tip of a key into the release
hole of the safety belt buckle while pulling up on
the safety belt.

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5. Stow the locking pin on the rear of the seat base
in the hole that is provided.
6. Repeat this procedure for the pin on the other
seat base.
7. Pull the seat rearward about two inches (5 cm) and
then lift the seat from the floor rails.
8. Remove the seat from the vehicle.9. For the first rear seat, stow the safety belt latch by
attaching the fastener strip on the safety belt latch
to the trim just inside the side door. There is also a
fastener strip provided for stowing the safety belt
latch for a four
-passenger bench seat, if equipped.

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For the remaining rear seats, stow the safety belt
latch plate on the clip at the window trim.Replacing the Rear Seats
CAUTION:
A seat that isn't locked into place properly can
move around in a collision or sudden stop. People
in the vehicle could be injured. Be sure to lock
the seat into place properly when installing it.
CAUTION:
A safety belt that is improperly routed, not
properly attached, or twisted won't provide
the protection needed in a crash. The person
wearing the belt could be seriously injured.
After installing the seat, always check to be sure
that the safety belts are properly routed and
attached, and are not twisted.

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5. Turn the blue or yellow handle down until it is in the
retaining clip.
6. If the vehicle has a floor mat, put the flap back to
its original position
7. Repeat this procedure for the other seat base.
8. Connect the quick
-release latch plates for the
lap
-shoulder belts by inserting the latch plates into
the buckles attached at the outboard positions of the
bench seat. Do not twist the belt.
9. Check that both locking pins are locked into place
before operating the vehicle.
Safety Belts: They're for Everyone
This part of the manual tells you how to use safety belts
properly. It also tells you some things you should not
do with safety belts.
And it explains the air bag system.
CAUTION:
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 passengers' belts
are fastened properly too.

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CAUTION:
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.
Your vehicle has a light
that comes on as a reminder
to buckle up. See ªSafety
Belt Reminder Lightº 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!

1-12 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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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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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.
Q: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.
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.