GMC SAVANA 2006 Owner's Guide

Center Passenger Position
(2nd Row)
If your vehicle has a second row bench seat, someone
can sit in the center position. When you sit in the
center position in the second row bench seat, you have
a lap-shoulder belt which works the same way as the
rear seat outside passengers’ belts. To learn how
to wear a lap-shoulder belt see, “Lap-Shoulder Belt”
underRear Outside Passenger Positions on page 1-25.
Rear Outside Passenger Positions
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.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The positions next to the windows have lap-shoulder
belts. Here is how to wear a lap-shoulder belt properly.
1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Do not let it get twisted.
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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 the belt go back all the way
and start again.
If the belt is not long enough, seeSafety Belt
Extender on page 1-31.
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.
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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 would
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 is a sudden stop or a crash.
{CAUTION:
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 t against your body.
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To unlatch the belt, push the button on the buckle.
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides
Rear safety belt comfort guides may provide added
safety belt comfort for older children who have outgrown
booster seats and for some adults. When installed on
a shoulder belt, the comfort guide positions the belt
away from the neck and head.
There is one guide for each outside passenger position
in the rear seats. Here is how to install a comfort
guide and use the safety belt:
1. Locate the guide in a pocket on the side of the
seatback.
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2. Place the guide over the belt and insert the
two edges of the belt into the slots of the guide.3. Be sure the belt is not twisted and it lies flat. The
elastic cord must be under the belt and the guide
on top.
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{CAUTION:
A safety belt that is not properly worn may not
provide the protection needed in a crash. The
person wearing the belt could be seriously
injured. 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.
4. Buckle, position, and release the safety belt as
described inRear Outside Passenger Positions
on page 1-25. 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 of the
guides. Slide the guide into its storage pocket on the
side of the seatback.
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Safety Belt Pretensioners
Your vehicle has safety belt pretensioners for the driver
and right front passenger. Although you cannot see
them, they are located on the buckle end of the safety
belts. They help the safety belts reduce a person’s
forward movement in a moderate to severe frontal and
near frontal crash.
Pretensioners work only once. If they activate in a
crash, you will need to get new ones, and probably other
new parts for your safety belt system. SeeReplacing
Restraint System Parts After a Crash on page 1-81.
Safety Belt Extender
If the vehicle’s safety belt will fasten around you, you
should use it.
But if a safety belt is not long enough, your dealer will
order you an extender. It is free. When you go in to
order it, take the heaviest coat you will wear, so
the extender will be long enough for you. To help avoid
personal injury, do not let someone else use it, and
use it only for the seat it is made to fit. The extender has
been designed for adults. Never use it for securing
child seats. To wear it, just attach it to the regular safety
belt. For more information, see the instruction sheet
that comes with the extender.
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Child Restraints
Older Children
Older children who have outgrown booster seats should
wear the vehicle’s safety belts.
If you have the choice, a child should sit in a seating
position that has a lap-shoulder belt to get the additional
restraint a shoulder belt can provide.
Q:What is the proper way to wear safety belts?
A:If possible, an older child should wear a
lap-shoulder belt and get the additional restraint a
shoulder belt can provide. The shoulder belt
should not cross the face or neck. The lap belt
should fit snugly below the hips, just touching the
top of the thighs. It should never be worn over
the abdomen, which could cause severe or even
fatal internal injuries in a crash.
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear seat.
In a crash, children who are not buckled up can strike
other people who are buckled up, or can be thrown
out of the vehicle. Older children need to use safety
belts properly.
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{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same belt.
The belt can not properly spread the impact
forces. In a crash, the two children can be
crushed together and seriously injured. A belt
must be used by only one person at a time.
Q:What if a child is wearing a lap-shoulder belt,
but the child is so small that the shoulder belt
is very close to the child’s face or neck?
A:If the child is seated in a rear outside seat position,
move the child toward the center of the vehicle. Also
seeRear Safety Belt Comfort Guides on page 1-28.
If the child is sitting in the second row center seat
position, move the child toward the safety belt
buckle. In either case, be sure that the shoulder belt
still is on the child’s shoulder, so that in a crash the
child’s upper body would have the restraint that belts
provide. If the child is so small that the shoulder belt
is still very close to the child’s face or neck, you
might want to place the child in a seat that has a lap
belt, if your vehicle has one.
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{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here a child is sitting in a seat that has a
lap-shoulder belt, but the shoulder part is
behind the child. If the child wears the belt in
this way, in a crash the child might slide under
the belt. The belt’s force would then be applied
right on the child’s abdomen. That could cause
serious or fatal injuries.
Wherever the child sits, the lap portion of the belt
should be worn low and snug on the hips, just touching
the child’s thighs. This applies belt force to the child’s
pelvic bones in a crash.
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