CHEVROLET MALIBU 1997 5.G Owner's Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine @ If I’m a good driver, and I never drive far from
A: You may be an excellent driver, but if you’re in an
home, why should I wear safety belts?
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.
H,,, 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 riding in your Chevrolet, 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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let it get twisted.
The shoulder belt may lock if you pull the belt across
you very quickly.
If this happens, let the belt go back
slightly to unlock it. Then pull the belt across you
more slowly.
4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
If the belt stops before it reaches the buckle, tilt the
latch plate and keep pulling until you can buckle
the belt.
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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 5. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end of the belt
as you pull up on the shoulder belt. 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, or
if you pull the belt very quickly out of the retractor.
1-14

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Shoulder Belt Height Adjuster
Before you begin to drive, move the shoulder belt
adjuster to the height that is right for you.
10 move it down, squeeze the release button and move
the adjuster to the desired position. You can move the
adjuster up just by pushing up on the shoulder belt
guide. After you move the adjuster to where you
want it,
try to move it down without squeezing the release button
to make sure it has locked into position.
Adjust the height
so that the shoulder portion of
the belt
is centered on your shoulder. The belt should
be away from your face and neck, but not falling
off
your shoulder.
1-15

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Q: What’s wrong with this?
1 CAUTION:
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.
A: The shoulder belt is too loose. It won’t give nearly
as much protection this way.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Q: What’s wrong with this?
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.
A: The belt is buckled in the wrong place.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine @’ What’s wrong with this?
A CAUTION:
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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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine @' What's wrong with this?
A: The belt is twisted across the body.
You can be seriously injured by a twisted belt. In
a crash, you wouldn't have the full width of the
belt to spread impact forces. If a belt is twisted,
make
it straight so it can work properly, or ask
your dealer to
fix it.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
The belt should go back out of the way.
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.
Before you close the door, be sure the belt
is out of the
way. If you slam the door on it, you can damage both the
belt and your vehicle.
A pregnant woman should wear a lap-shoulder belt, and
the lap portion should be
worn as low as possible, below
the rounding, throughout the pregnancy.
I
1-20

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine The best way to protect the fetus is to protect the
mother. When a safety belt
is worn properly, it’s more
likely that the fetus won’t be hurt in a crash. For
pregnant women, as for anyone, the key to malung
safety belts effective is wearing them properly.
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.
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)
This part explains the Supplemental Restraint System
(SRS) or air bag system.
Your Chevrolet has two air bags
-- one air bag for the
driver and another air bag for the right front passenger. Here are
the most important things
to know about the air
bag system:
‘ A CAUTION:
--- - I
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
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.