belt CHEVROLET IMPALA 2000 8.G Owner's Guide

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4. Buckle, position and release the safety belt as
described in ªRear Seat 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. Pull the guide upward to expose its storage clip,
and then slide the guide onto the clip. Rotate the guide and
clip inward and in between the seatback and the interior
body, leaving only the loop of elastic cord exposed.
Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! That includes
infants and all children smaller than adult size. 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.
Smaller Children and Babies
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
the best protection for adults, 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. Always secure children properly in
your vehicle.

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CAUTION:
Smaller children and babies should always be
restrained in a child or infant restraint. The
instructions for the restraint will say whether it is
the right type and size for your child. A very
young child's hip bones are so small that a
regular belt might not stay low on the hips, as it
should. Instead, the belt will likely be over the
child's abdomen. In a crash, the belt would apply
force right on the child's abdomen, which could
cause serious or fatal injuries. So, be sure that
any child small enough for one is always properly
restrained in a child or infant restraint.
Infants need complete support, including support for the
head and neck. This is necessary because an infant's neck
is weak and its head weighs so much compared with the
rest of its body. In a frontal crash, an infant in a rear
-facing
restraint settles into the restraint, so the crash forces can be
distributed across the strongest part of the infant's body,
the back and shoulders. A baby should be secured in an
appropriate infant restraint. This is so important that many
hospitals today won't release a newborn infant to its
parents unless there is an infant restraint available for the
baby's first trip in a motor vehicle.

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A booster seat (F) is designed for children who
are about 40 to 60 lbs., or even up to 80 lbs.
(18 to 27 kg, or even up to 36 kg), and about
four to eight years of age. A booster seat is
designed to improve the fit of the vehicle's safety
belt system. Booster seats with shields use lap
-only
belts; however, booster seats without shields use
lap
-shoulder belts. Booster seats can also help a
child to see out the window.When choosing a child restraint, be sure the child
restraint is designed to be used in a vehicle. If it is, it
will have a label saying that it meets federal motor
vehicle safety standards.
Then follow the instructions for the restraint. You may
find these instructions on the restraint itself or in a
booklet, or both. These restraints use the belt system in
your vehicle, but the child also has to be secured within
the restraint to help reduce the chance of personal injury.
The instructions that come with the infant or child
restraint will show you how to do that. Both the owner's
manual and the child restraint instructions are important,
so if either one of these is not available, obtain a
replacement copy from the manufacturer.

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1-47 Securing a Child Restraint in a
Rear Seat Position
CAUTION:
A child in a child restraint in the center front seat
can be badly injured or killed by the right front
passenger air bag if it inflates. Never secure a
child restraint in the center front seat. It's always
better to secure a child restraint in the rear seat.
You may secure a forward
-facing child restraint
in the right front passenger seat, but before you
do, always move the front passenger seat as far
back as it will go. It's better to secure the child
restraint in the rear seat.
You'll be using the lap-shoulder belt. See the earlier
part about the top strap if the child restraint has one.
Be sure to follow the instructions that came with the
child restraint. Secure the child in the child restraint
when and as the instructions say.
1. Put the restraint on the seat.
2. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder
portions of the vehicle's safety belt through or
around the restraint. The child restraint instructions
will show you how.

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3. Tilt the latch plate to adjust the belt if needed.
If the shoulder belt goes in front of the child's face or
neck, put it behind the child restraint.4. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button is
positioned so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly if you ever had to.

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5. To tighten the belt, pull up on the shoulder belt while
you push down on the child restraint. If you're using
a forward
-facing child restraint, you may find it
helpful to use your knee to push down on the child
restraint as you tighten the belt.
6. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle's
safety belt and let it go back all the way. The safety belt
will move freely again and be ready to work for an adult
or larger child passenger.
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right
Front Seat Position
Your vehicle has a right front passenger air bag. Never
put a rear
-facing child restraint in this seat. Here's why:
CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger's air bag inflates. This is because the
back of the rear
-facing child restraint would be
very close to the inflating air bag. Always secure
a rear
-facing child restraint in the rear seat.

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Although a rear seat is a safer place, you can secure a
forward
-facing child restraint in the right front seat.
You'll be using the lap
-shoulder belt. See the earlier part
about the top strap if the child restraint has one. Be sure
to follow the instructions that came with the child
restraint. Secure the child in the child restraint when and
as the instructions say.
1. Because your vehicle has a right front passenger
air bag, always move the seat as far back as it will go
before securing a forward
-facing child restraint.
(See ªSeatsº in the Index.)
2. Put the restraint on the seat.
3. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder
portions of the vehicle's safety belt through or
around the restraint. The child restraint instructions
will show you how.
4. Tilt the latch plate to adjust the belt if needed.
If the shoulder belt goes in front of the child's face or
neck, put it behind the child restraint.

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5. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button is
positioned so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly if you ever had to.6. To tighten the belt, pull up on the shoulder belt while
you push down on the child restraint. You may find it
helpful to use your knee to push down on the child
restraint as you tighten the belt.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle's
safety belt and let it go back all the way. The safety belt
will move freely again and be ready to work for an adult
or larger child passenger.

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Larger Children
Children who have outgrown child restraints should
wear the vehicle's safety belts.
If you have the choice, a child should sit next to a
window so the child can wear a lap
-shoulder belt and
get the additional restraint a shoulder belt can provide.Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear seat. But they need to use the
safety belts properly.

Children who aren't buckled up can be thrown out
in a crash.

Children who aren't buckled up can strike other
people who are.

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CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same belt. The
belt can't properly spread the impact forces. In a
crash, the two children can be crushed together
and seriously injured. A belt must be used by
only one person at a time.
Q:What if a child is wearing a lap-shoulder belt,
but the child is so small that the shoulder belt is
very close to the child's face or neck?
A:If the child is sitting in a seat next to a window,
move the child toward the center of the vehicle.
If the child is sitting in the center rear seat
passenger position, move the child toward the
safety belt buckle. In either case, be sure that the
shoulder belt still is on the child's shoulder, so that
in a crash the child's upper body would have the
restraint that belts provide. If the child is sitting in a
rear seat outside position, see ªRear Safety Belt
Comfort Guidesº in the Index. If the child is so
small that the shoulder belt is still very close to the
child's face or neck, you might want to place the
child in the center seat position, the one that has
only a lap belt.