belt CHEVROLET TRACKER 1996 Owner's Manual

How does an air bag restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or
the instrument panel. The air bag supplements the
protection provided by safety belts.
Air bags distribute
the force
of the impact more evenly over the occupant’s
upper body, stopping the occupant more gradually. But
air bags would not help you in many types of collisions,
including rollovers, rear impacts and side impacts,
primarily because
an occupant’s motion is not toward the
air bag.
Air bags should never be regarded as anything
more than a supplement to safety belts, and then only in
moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal colli.sions.
What will you see after an air bag inflates?
After the air bag inflates, it quickly deflates. This occurs
so quickly that some people may not even realize the air
bag inflated. Some components
of the air bag module in
the steering wheel hub for the driver’s air bag,
or the
instrument panel for
the right front passenger’s bag, will
be hot for a short time. The part of the bag that comes
into contact with you may be warm, but it will never be
too hot
to touch. There will be some smoke and dust
coming
from vents in the deflated air bags. Air bag
inflation will not prevent the driver from seeing or from
being able to steer the vehicle, nor will it stop people
from leaving the vehicle.
When an air bag inflates, there is dust in the air.
This dust could cause breathing-problems for
people with a history
of asthma or other
breathing trouble.
To avoid this, everyone in the
vehicle should get
out as soon as it is safe to do so.
If you have breathing problems but can’t get out
of the vehicle after an air bag inflates, then get
fresh air by opening a window or door.
In many crashes severe enough to inflate ;in air bag,
windshields
are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage
may also occur from the
right front passenger air
bag.
The air bags are designed to inflate only once. After
they inflate, you’ll need some new parts for your air
bag system.
If you don’t get them, the air bag system
won’t be there to help protect you
in ‘another crash.
A new system will include air bag modules and
possibly other
parts. The service manual for your
vehicle covers the need to replace other
parts.
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Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing
and diagnostic module, which records information
about the air bag system. The module records
information about the readiness
of the system, when
the sensors are activated and driver’s safety belt
usage at deployment.
bag system. Improper service can mean that your
air bag system won’t work properly. See your
dealer for service.
Let only qualified technicians work on your air
NOTICE:
If you damage the cover for the driver’s or the
right front passenger’s air bag, they may not
work properly.
You may have to replace the air
bag module in the steering wheel or both the air
bag module and the instrument panel for the
right front passenger’s air bag.
Do not open or
break the air bag covers.
Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped Geo
Air bags affect how your Geo should be serviced. There
are parts
of the air bag system in several places around
your vehicle. You don’t want the system to inflate while
someone is working on your vehicle. Your Geo dealer
and the Tracker Service Manual have information about
servicing your vehicle and the air bag system.
To
purchase a service manual, see “Service and Owner
Publications” in the Index.
For up to 10 seconds after the ignition key is
turned off and the battery is disconnected, an air
bag can still inflate during improper service.
You
can be injured if you are close to an air bag when
it inflates. Avoid wires wrapped with yellow tape
or yellow connectors. They are probably part
of
the air bag system. Be sure to follow proper
service procedures, and make sure the person
performing work for you is qualified to do
so.
The air bag system does not need regular maintenance.
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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.
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. 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 making
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.
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.
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Lap-Shoulder Belt
The rear seats have lap-shoulder belts. Here’s how to
wear one properly.
1. 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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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. 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 is positioned
so you
would be able to unbuckle the safety belt 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.
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.
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The safety belt locks if there's a sudden stop or a crash,
or if you pull the belt very quickly out of the retractor.
You can be seriously hurt if your shoulder belt
too loose. In a crash, you would move forward
too much, which could increase injury. The
shoulder belt should
fit against your body.
~
is
To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
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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
~~
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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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 the rear seat.
Never put a rear-facing
child restraint in
the front passenger seat. Here’s why:
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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
rear-facing child restraint would be very close to
the inflating air bag. Always secure a rear-facing
child restraint in the rear seat.
You may, however, secure a forward-facing child
restraint in the right front seat. Before you secure
a forward-facing child restraint, always move the
front passenger seat as
far back as it will go. Or,
secure the child restraint in
the 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.
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Top Strap Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear
Seat Position
If your child restraint has a top strap, it should be
anchored.
If you have a two-door model, don’t use a
restraint like
that in your vehicle because the top strap
anchor cannot be installed properly.
You shouldn’t use
this type of restraint without anchoring the top strap.
If your vehicle is a four-door model and you need to
have
an anchor installed, you can ask your Geo dealer to
put one
in for you. If you want to install an anchor
yourself,
your dealer can tell you how to do it. You’ll
be using the lap-shoulder belt. See the earlier part
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. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder
portions
of the vehicle’s safety belt through or
around
the restraint. The child restraint instructions
will show
you how.
If the shoulder belt goes in front of the child’s face or
neck, put it behind the child restraint.
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4. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button is
positioned so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly
if you ever had to.
5. Pull the rest of the shoulder belt all the way out of
the retractor to set the lock.
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