CHEVROLET EXPRESS CARGO VAN 2001 1.G Workshop Manual

1-38
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
Your vehicle may have rear shoulder belt comfort
guides. This feature will provide added safety belt
comfort for older children who have outgrown booster
seats and for small adults. When installed on a shoulder
belt, the comfort guide better positions the belt away
from the neck and head.
There is one guide for each outside passenger position in
the rear seats. To provide added safety belt comfort for
children who have outgrown child restraints and for
smaller adults, the comfort guides may be installed on
the shoulder belts. Here's how to install a comfort guide
and use the safety belt:
1. Locate the guide on the side of the seatback.

1-39
2. Slide the guide under and past the belt. The elastic
cord must be under the belt. Then, place the guide
over the belt, and insert the two edges of the belt into
the slots of the guide.3. Be sure the elastic cord is not unwrapped around the
retainer pin as this decreases the length.

1-40
4. Buckle, position and release the safety belt as
described in ªRear Seat Outside Passenger Positionsº
earlier in this section. Make sure that the shoulder
belt crosses the shoulder.
To remove and store the comfort guides, squeeze the
belt edges together so that you can take them out from
the guides.
Center Passenger Position

1-41 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 and 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 ªSafety Belt Extenderº 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.

1-42
Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! This includes
infants and all other children. Neither the distance
traveled nor the age and size of the traveler changes the
need, for everyone, to use safety restraints. In fact, the
law in every state in the United States and in every
Canadian province says children up to some age must be
restrained while in a vehicle.
Infants and Young Children (Except Cargo
Vans with Passenger Air Bags)
Every time infants and young children ride in vehicles,
they should have the protection provided by the
appropriate restraint. Young children should not use the
vehicle's safety belts, unless there is no other choice.

1-43
CAUTION:
People should never hold a baby in their arms
while riding in a vehicle. A baby doesn't weigh
much
-- until a crash. During a crash a baby will
become so heavy it is not possible to hold it.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
For example, in a crash at only 25 mph
(40 km/h), a 12
-lb. (5.5 kg) baby will suddenly
become a 240
-lb. (110 kg) force on a person's
arms. A baby should be secured in an
appropriate restraint.

1-44
CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to, any
air bag when it inflates can be seriously injured
or killed. Air bags plus lap
-shoulder belts offer
outstanding protection for adults and older
children, but not for young children and infants.
Neither the vehicle's safety belt system nor its air
bag system is designed for them. Young children
and infants need the protection that a child
restraint system can provide.
Q:What are the different types of add-on
child restraints?
A:Add-on child restraints, which are purchased by the
vehicle's owner, are available in four basic types.
Selection of a particular restraint should take into
consideration not only the child's weight, height
and age but also whether or not the restraint will be
compatible with the motor vehicle in which it will
be used.
For most basic types of child restraints, there are
many different models available. When purchasing
a child restraint, be sure it is designed to be used in
a motor vehicle. If it is, the restraint will have a
label saying that it meets federal motor vehicle
safety standards.
The restraint manufacturer's instructions that come
with the restraint state the weight and height
limitations for a particular child restraint. In
addition, there are many kinds of restraints
available for children with special needs.

1-45
CAUTION:
Newborn infants need complete support,
including support for the head and neck. This is
necessary because a newborn infant's neck is
weak and its head weighs so much compared with
the rest of its body. In a crash, an infant in a
rear
-facing seat settles into the restraint, so the
crash forces can be distributed across the
strongest part of an infant's body, the back and
shoulders. Infants always should be secured in
appropriate infant restraints.
CAUTION:
The body structure of a young child is quite
unlike that of an adult or older child, for whom
the safety belts are designed. A young child's hip
bones are still so small that vehicle's regular
safety belt may not remain low on the hip bones,
as it should. Instead, it may settle up around the
child's abdomen. In a crash, the belt would apply
force on a body area that's unprotected by any
bony structure. This alone could cause serious or
fatal injuries. Young children always should be
secured in appropriate child restraints.

1-46 Infants and Young Children
(Cargo Vans with Passenger Air Bags)
CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to, any
air bag when it inflates can be seriously injured
or killed. Air bags plus lap
-shoulder belts offer
outstanding protection for adults and older
children, but not for young children and infants.
Neither the vehicle's safety belt system nor its air
bag system is designed for them. Young children
and infants need the protection that a child
restraint system can provide.
CAUTION:
Newborn infants need complete support,
including support for the head and neck. This is
necessary because a newborn infant's neck is
weak and its head weighs so much compared with
the rest of its body. In a crash, an infant in a
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
rear-facing seat settles into the restraint, so the
crash forces can be distributed across the
strongest part of an infant's body, the back and
shoulders. Infants always should be secured in
appropriate infant restraints. However, infants,
who should be restrained in a rear
-facing child
restraint, cannot ride safely in this vehicle.
CAUTION:
The body structure of a young child is quite
unlike that of an adult or older child, for whom
the safety belts are designed. A young child's hip
bones are still so small that vehicle's regular
safety belt may not remain low on the hip bones,
as it should. Instead, it may settle up around the
child's abdomen. In a crash, the belt would apply
force on a body area that's unprotected by any
bony structure. This alone could cause serious or
fatal injuries. Young children always should be
secured in appropriate child restraints.

1-47
CAUTION:
People should never hold a baby in their arms
while riding in a vehicle. A baby doesn't weigh
much
-- until a crash. During a crash a baby
will become so heavy it is not possible to hold it.
For example, in a crash at only 25 mph
(40 km/h), a 12
-lb. (5.5 kg) baby will suddenly
become a 240
-lb. (110 kg) force on your arms.