CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO 1997 5.G Owner's Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Your vehicle has a light that
comes on as a reminder to
buckle
up. (See “Safety
Belt Reminder Light” 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
25 years of safety belts in vehicles,
the facts are clear. In most crashes buckling up does
matter
... a lot!
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.

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Put someone on it. Get it up to speed. Then stop the vehicle. The rider
doesn’t stop.

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' 't
The person keeps going until stopped by something.
In a real vehicle, it could be the windshield ...
or the instrument panel ...

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
Here Are Questions Many People Ask
About Safety Belts -- and the Answers
&: 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.
&: If my vehicle has air bags, why should I have to
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.
wear safety belts?

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Q:
A:
If I’m a good driver, and I never drive far from
home, why should
I wear safety belts?
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.
How 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.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
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.
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.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine &.. What's wrong with this?
A: The shoulder belt is too loose. It won't give nearly
as much protection this way.
A CAUT'ON:
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 Q.’ What’s wrong with this?
T
A: The belt is buckled in the wrong place.
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.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine &: What’s wrong with this?
I I I 1 I I 1 1 I I I I
A: The shoulder belt is worn under the arm. It should
be worn over the shoulder at all times.
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.
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