belt CHEVROLET TRACKER 1996 User Guide

Here Are Questions Many People Ask
About Safety Belts -- and the Answers
Q: 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.
Q: If my vehicle has air bags, why should I have to
wear safety belts?
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.
Q: If I’m a good driver, and I never drive far from
home, why should
I wear safety belts?
A: 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 kmb).
Safety belts are for everyone.
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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 chldren
and babies. If a child will be riding in
your Geo, 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.
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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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.
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Q: What’s wrong with this?
6& CAUTION:
=A: The shoulder belt is too loose. It won’t give nearly
as much protection this way.
You can be seriously hurt if your shoulder belt is
too loose. In a crash, you would move forward
too muck, which could increase injury. The
shoulder belt
should fit against your body.
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e.' What's wrong with this?
A: The belt is buckled in the wrong place.
-
A CAUTION:
- -
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.
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e.' What's wrong with this?
I I 1 1 I I 1 I 1
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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Q: What’s wrong with this?
L 1 I I I I 1 I I I I I
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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Air Bag System
To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
The belt should go back out
of the way.
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. This part explains the air
bag system.
Your Geo
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:
I 6% CAUTION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash if
you aren’t wearing your safety belt
-- even if you
have an air bag. Wearing your safety belt during
a
crash helps reduce your chance of hitting things
inside the vehicle or being ejected from it. The air
bag is only
a “supplemental restraint.” That is, it
works with safety belts but doesn’t replace them.
CAUTION: (Continued)
I
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Air bags are designed to work only in moderate to
severe crashes where the front of your vehicle hits
-thing. They aren’t designed to inflate at all in
rollover, rear, side or low-speed frontal crashes.
Everyone in your vehicle, including the driver,
should
wear a safety belt properly -- whether or
not there’s an air bag
for that person.
Air bags inflate with great force, faster than the
blink of an eye.
If you’re too close to an inflating
air bag, it could seriously injure you. Safety belts
help keep you in position for
an air bag inflation
in
a crash. Always wear your safety belt, even
with an
air bag. The driver should sit as far
back as possible while still maintaining control
of the vehicle.
A CAUTION:
An inflating air bag can seriously injure small
children. Always secure children
properly in your
vehicle.
To read how, see the part of this manual
called “Children” and the caution label on the
right front passenger’s safety belt.
I
I
AIR
BAG
- There is an air bag
readiness light on the
instrument
panel, which
show-s AIR BAG.
-
The system checks the air bag’s electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you
if there is an electrical
problem. See “Air Bag Readiness Light’’ in the Index
for more information.
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Don’t put anything on, or attach anything to, the
steering wheel or instrument panel. Also, don’t
put anything (such as pets or objects) between
any occupant and the steering wheel or instrument panel. If something is between an
occupant and an air bag, it could affect the
performance of the air bag
-- or worse, it could
cause injury.
When
should an air bag inflate?
The air bag is designed to inflate in moderate to severe
frontal or near-frontal crashes. The air bag will inflate
only
if the impact speed is above the system’s designed
“threshold level.” If your vehicle goes straight into a
wall that doesn’t move or deform, the threshold level is
about
9 to 15 mph (14 to 24 km/h). The threshold level
can vary, however, with specific vehicle design,
so that
it can be somewhat above or below this range. If your
vehicle
strikes something that will move or deform, such
as a parked car, the threshold level
will be higher. The
air bag is not designed to inflate in rollovers, side
impacts or rear impacts, because inflation would not
help the occupant.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether
an air
bag should have inflated simply because of the damage
to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were.
Inflation is determined by the angle of the impact and
the vehicle’s deceleration. Vehicle damage is only one
indication
of this.
The air bag system is designed to work properly under a
wide range
of conditions, including off-road usage.
Observe safe driving speeds, especially on rough terrain.
As always, wear your safety belt. See “Off-Road
Driving”
in the Index for more tips on off-road driving.
What makes an air bag inflate?
In a frontal or near-frontal impact of sufficient severity,
the air bag sensing system detects that the vehicle
is
suddenly stopping as a result of a crash. The sensing
system signals the inflator to produce a gas that inflates
the air
bags. The inflator, air bag and related hardware
are all part of the air bag modules packed inside the
steering wheel and in the instrument panel in front of the
right front passenger.
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