belt CHEVROLET VOLT 2011 User Guide

Black plate (11,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-11
Why Safety Belts Work
When you ride in or on anything,
you go as fast as it goes.
Take the simplest vehicle. Suppose
it is just a seat on wheels.
Put someone on it.Get it up to speed. Then stop the
vehicle. The rider does not stop.

Black plate (12,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2011
3-12 Seats and Restraints
The person keeps going until
stopped by something. In a real
vehicle, it could be the windshield...or the instrument panel...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 is why safety
belts make such good sense.

Black plate (13,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-13
Questions and Answers About
Safety Belts
Q: Will I be trapped in the vehicleafter a crash if I am wearing a
safety belt?
A: You could be—whether you
are wearing a safety belt or
not. But your chance of being
conscious during and after an
accident, so you canunbuckle
and get out, is muchgreater if
you are belted. And you can
unbuckle a safety belt, even if
you are upside down.
Q: If my vehicle has airbags, why should I have to wear safety
belts?
A: Airbags are supplemental
systems only; so they work
with safety belts —not instead
of them. Whether or not an
airbag is provided, all occupants
still have to buckle up to get
the most protection. That is
true not only in frontal collisions,
but especially in side and other
collisions. Q: If I am 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 are in a crash —even
one that is not your fault —you
and your passenger(s) can be
hurt. Being a good driver does
not protect you from things
beyond your control, such
as bad drivers.
Most accidents occur within
40 km (25 mi) of home.
And the greatest number of
serious injuries and deaths
occur at speeds of less than
65 km/h (40 mph).
Safety belts are for everyone.
How to Wear Safety Belts
Properly
This section 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 infants. If a child will be riding
in the vehicle, see Older Children on
page 3‑41 orInfants and Young
Children on page 3‑43. Follow those
rules for everyone's protection.
It is very important for all occupants
to buckle up. Statistics show that
unbelted people are hurt more often
in crashes than those who are
wearing safety belts.
Occupants who are not buckled up
can be thrown out of the vehicle in a
crash. And they can strike others in
the vehicle who are wearing safety
belts.

Black plate (14,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2011
3-14 Seats and Restraints
First, before you or your
passenger(s) wear a safety belt,
there is important information you
should know.
Sit up straight and always keep
your feet on the floor in front of you.
The lap part of the belt should beworn low and snug on the hips, just
touching the thighs. In a crash, this
applies force to the strong pelvic
bones and you would be less likely
to slide under the lap belt. If you
slid under it, the belt would apply
force on 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 shoulder belt locks if there is a
sudden stop or crash.
Q: What is wrong with this?
A:
The shoulder belt is too loose.
It will not give as much
protection this way.

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Seats and Restraints 3-15
{WARNING
You can be seriously hurt if the
shoulder belt is too loose. In a
crash, you would move forward
too much, which could increase
injury. The shoulder belt should
fit snugly against your body.Q: What is wrong with this?
A:
The lap belt is too loose.
It will not give nearly as much
protection this way.
{WARNING
You can be seriously hurt if the
lap belt is too loose. In a crash,
you could slide under the lap
belt and apply force on your
abdomen. This could cause
serious or even fatal injuries.
The lap belt should be worn
low and snug on the hips,
just touching the thighs.

Black plate (16,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2011
3-16 Seats and Restraints
Q: What is wrong with this?
A:The belt is buckled in the wrong
buckle.
{WARNING
You can be seriously injured if
the 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 on the pelvic bones.
This could cause serious internal
injuries. Always buckle the belt
into the buckle nearest you. Q: What is wrong with this?
A:
The belt is over an armrest.

Black plate (17,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-17
{WARNING
You can be seriously injured if the
belt goes over an armrest like
this. The belt would be much too
high. In a crash, you can slide
under the belt. The belt force
would then be applied on the
abdomen, not on the pelvic
bones, and that could cause
serious or fatal injuries. Be sure
the belt goes under the armrests.Q: What is wrong with this?
A:
The shoulder belt is worn under
the arm. It should be worn over
the shoulder at all times.
{WARNING
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 are not
as strong as shoulder bones.
You could also severely injure
internal organs like your liver or
spleen. The shoulder belt should
go over the shoulder and across
the chest.

Black plate (18,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2011
3-18 Seats and Restraints
Q: What is wrong with this?
A:The belt is behind the body.
{WARNING
You can be seriously injured
by not wearing the lap-shoulder
belt properly. In a crash, you
would not be restrained by the
shoulder belt. Your body could
move too far forward increasing
the chance of head and neck
injury. You might also slide
under the lap belt. The belt
force would then be applied right
on the abdomen. That could
cause serious or fatal injuries.
The shoulder belt should go over
the shoulder and across the
chest. Q: What is wrong with this?
A:
The belt is twisted across
the body.

Black plate (19,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-19
{WARNING
You can be seriously injured by a
twisted belt. In a crash, you would
not 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.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
All seating positions in the vehicle
have a lap-shoulder belt.
The following instructions explain
how to wear a lap-shoulder belt
properly.
1. If the seat has a safety beltguide, and the safety belt is not
routed through the guide, slide
the edge of the belt webbing
through the opening on the
guide. Be sure the belt is not
twisted. 2. Adjust the seat, if the seat is
adjustable, so you can sit up
straight. To see how, see “Seats”
in the Index.
3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you. Do not let it
get twisted.
The lap-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.
If the shoulder portion of a
passenger belt is pulled out
all the way, the child restraint
locking feature may be engaged.
If this happens, let the belt go
back all the way and start again.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
is not long enough, see Safety
Belt Extender on page 3‑23.
Position the release button on
the buckle so that the safety belt
could be quickly unbuckled if
necessary.

Black plate (20,1)Chevrolet Volt Owner Manual - 2011
3-20 Seats and Restraints
5. To make the lap part tight, pullup on the shoulder belt.
It may be necessary to pull
stitching on the safety belt
through the latch plate to fully
tighten the lap belt on smaller
occupants.To unlatch the belt, push the button
on the buckle. The belt should
return to its stowed position.
Before a door is closed, be sure
the safety belt is out of the way. If a
door is slammed against a safety
belt, damage can occur to both the
safety belt and the vehicle.
Safety Belt Pretensioners
This vehicle has safety belt
pretensioners for front outboard
occupants. Although the safety
belt pretensioners cannot be seen,
they are part of the safety belt
assembly. They can help tighten
the safety belts during the early
stages of a moderate to severe
frontal, near frontal, or rear crash
if the threshold conditions for
pretensioner activation are met.
And, if the vehicle has side impact
airbags, safety belt pretensioners
can help tighten the safety belts in
a side crash or a rollover event.
Pretensioners work only once.
If the pretensioners activate in a
crash, they need to be replaced,
and other new parts for the vehicle's
safety belt system may be required.
See Replacing Safety Belt System
Parts after a Crash on page 3‑24.