seats CHEVROLET TRACKER 1993 User Guide

Seats & Safety Belts
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.
rn Here Are Questions
Many People
Ask about
Safety Belts - and the
Answers
Q:
A:
Won’t I be trapped in the vehicle
after an accident if
I’m wearing a
safety belt?
You could be - whether you’re
wearing a safety belt or not. But you
can easily 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.
Q: Why don’t they just put in air
bags
so people won’t have to wear
safety belts?
Inflatable Restraint systems, are in
some vehicles today and will be in
more 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.
A: “Air bags, ” or Supplemental
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Seats & Safety Belts
I
9.924
First, you’ll want to know which
restraint systems your vehicle has.
We’ll start
with the driver position.
Driver Position
This section describes the driver’s
restraint system.
1
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.
Y
3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the
belt across
you. Don’t let it get
twisted.
4. Push the latch plate into the buckle
until it clicks.
If
the belt isn’t long enough, see
“Safety Belt Extender” at the end
of
this part. Make sure the release
button on the buckle faces upward or
outward
so you would be able to
unbuckle
it quickly if you ever had
to.
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Seats & Safety Belts
I 1
Q: What’s wrong with this?
A: The belt is buckled in the wrong
place.
I 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 bc
there, not at the pelvic bones. This
could cause serious internal
injuries. Always buckle your belt
into the buckle nearest
you.
r
1
Q: What’s wrong with this?
A: The shoulder belt is worn under the
arm.
It should be worn over the
shoulder at all times. P
You can be seriously injured
b 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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Seats & Safety Belts
Passenger Positions
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 part.
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.
Rear Seat Passengers
It’s very important for rear seat
passengers to buckle
up! Accident
statistics show that
unbelted people in
the rear seat are hurt more often in
crashes than those who are wearing
safety belts. Rear
passengers who aren’t safety belted
can be thrown out of the vehicle
in a
crash. And they can strike others in the
vehicle who are wearing safety belts.
... 28
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The rear seats have lap-shoulder belts.
Here’s how to wear one properly.
1. Pick up the latch plate and pull it
across you. Don’t let it get twisted.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle
until it clicks.
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.
If the belt is not long enough, see
“Safety Belt Extender” at the end
of
this section.
Make sure
the release button on the
buckle faces upward or outward so you
would be able to unbuckle
it quickly if
you ever had to.
3. To make the lap part tight, pull down
on
the buckle end of the belt as you
pull up on the shoulder part.
1
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 only
if there’s a
sudden stop or a crash, or
if you pull it
very quickly out of the retractor.
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Seats & Safety Belts
4 You can be seriously hurt if
loose. In a crash you would move
forward
too much, which could
increase injury.
The shoulder belt
should fit against your body.
- your shoulder belt is too
To unlatch the belt, just push the button
on the buckle.
Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection!
That includes infants and all children
smaller than adult size.
In fact, the law
in every state and Canadian province
says children up
to some age must be
restrained while in a vehicle.
Smaller Children and Babies
A
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.
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Seats & Safety Belts
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
the rear seat
unless the child
is an infant and you’re
the only adult
in the vehicle. In that
case, you might want to secure the
restraint
in the front seat where you can
keep an eye on the baby.
Wherever you install it, be sure to
secure the child restraint properly.
II
An unsecured child restraint
W can move around in a
ollision
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.
Top Strap
If your child restraint has a top strap, it
should be anchored.
The only place
in your vehicle where
you can use a child restraint
with a top
strap is
in the front passenger seat.
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CAUTION
rn Dl A ThL,, is no place to anchor a
- child restraint with a top strap
behind the rear seats of your
vehicle. In a crash, the child
restraint with a top strap would not
be properly secured
in a rear seat,
so the child’s injuries could be
increased. Don’t try to anchor a
child restraint with a top strap in a
rear seat.
Attaching the Top Strap - Right
Front Passenger Position Only
If the child restraint is equipped with a
top strap, follow these instructions for
securing it. Once a child restraint with a
top strap has been secured in the right
front seat (see “Securing a Child
Restraint in the Right Front Seat” in the
Index), hook the
top strap to the latch
plate on the right rear seat lap-shoulder
belt.
Then, remove as much slack as possible
from the top strap. Pull the
rear sear lap-shoulder belt all
the way out to switch it to the ratcheting
mode. Allow the lap-shoulder belt to
feed back into the retractor. Listen for
clicking to be sure the safety belt
remains in the ratcheting mode.
If slack remains
in the top strap, move
the right front seat forward just enough
to eliminate the slack.
When
a child restraint with a top strap is
being used, no one can sit in the right
rear position.
33.m.
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Seats & Safety Belts
Securing a Child Restraint in the Rear
Seat
You’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt.
See the earlier section about the top
strap
if the child restraint has one.
1. Put the restraint on the seat. Follow
the instructions for the child
restraint.
2. Secure the child in the child restraint
as
the instructions say.
3. Pull out the vehicle’s safety belt and
run the lap part through or around
the restraint. The child restraint
instructions will show
you how.
See if the shoulder belt would go in
front of the child’s face or neck.
If
so, put it behind the child restraint.
4. Buckle the belt. Make sure the
release button faces upward or
outward,
so you’ll be able to
unbuckle it quickly
if you ever need
to.
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Seats & Safety Belts
I
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat
You’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt.
See the earlier section about the top
strap
if the child restraint has one.
This is the only place in your vehicle
where you can use a child restraint with
a top strap.
1 . Put the restraint on the seat. Follow
the instructions for the child
restraint.
as the instructions say.
2. Secure the child in the child restraint
‘9.36
3. Pull out the vehicle’s safety belt and
run the lap part through or around
the restraint. The child restraint
instructions
will show you how.
See if the shoulder belt would go
in
front of the child’s face or neck. If
so, put it behind the child restraint.
4. Buckle the belt. Make sure the
release button faces upward or
outward,
so you’ll be able to
unbuckle it quickly if you ever need
to.
b
5. Pull the rest of the shoulder belt all
the way
out of the retractor to set the
lock.
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