belt CHEVROLET SUBURBAN 1997 Owner's Guide

Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions Lap-Shoulder Belt
The positions next to the windows have lap-shoulder
belts. Here’s how to wear one properly.
2-Door Utility and Suburban
1-40
ProCarManuals.com

4-DOOr Utility
1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let it get twisted.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Pull up
on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
When the shoulder belt is pulled out all the way, it
will lock.
If it does, let it go back all the way and
start again.
2-Door Utility and Suburban
1-41
ProCarManuals.com

4-DOOr Utility
3. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end
of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder part. 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 a crash.
1-42
ProCarManuals.com

Four-door utility models and the second seat of
Suburbans have shoulder belt height adjusters. Move
the shoulder belt height adjuster to the height that is
right for you.
To move the height adjuster down, push in at the word
PRESS and move the height 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 pushing in 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.
I
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.
1-43
ProCarManuals.com

2-Door Utility and Suburban 4-Door Utility
To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
1-44
ProCarManuals.com

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 children who have outgrown child restraints
and for small adults. When installed
on a shoulder belt,
the comfort guide pulls the belt away from the neck
and head.
There is one guide for each outside passenger position
in the rear seat.
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. Remove the guide from its storage clip on the side of
the seatback.
1-45
ProCarManuals.com

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 that the belt is not twisted and it lies flat.
The elastic cord must be under the belt and the
guide on top.
1-46
~ ProCarManuals.com

4. Buckle, position and release the safety belt as
described in "Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions"
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. Slide the guide onto the storage clip.
Make sure you remove the comfort guide from the belt
before
you fold a rear seat down or use an easy-entry
seat, if your vehicle has one.
1-47
ProCarManuals.com

Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! That includes
infants and all children smaller than adult size.
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
A 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.
1-48
ProCarManuals.com

Child Restraints
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.
Where to Put the Restraint
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear rather than the front seat.
We at General Motors therefore recommend that you
put your child restraint in a rear seat.
Never put a
rear-facing child restraint in the right front passenger
seat. Here’s why:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured if the right front passenger’s air
bag inflates. This is because the back of
a
rearfacing child restraint would be very close to
the inflating air bag. Always secure
a rear-facing
child restraint in
a rear seat.
You may, however, secure a forward-facing child
restraint in the right front seat. Before you secure
1 a forward-facing child restraint, always move the
front passenger seat as far back as it will
go. Or,
secure the child restraint in a rear seat.
Wherever you install it, be sure to secure the child
restraint properly.
Keep in mind that an unsecured child restraint can move
around in a collision or sudden stop and injure people in
the vehicle. Be sure to properly secure any child
restraint in your vehicle
-- even when no child is in it.
1-50
ProCarManuals.com