belt GMC SIERRA 1997 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. Air bags supplement 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
those air bags. 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 collisions.
What will you see after an air bag inflates?
After an
air bag inflates, it quickly deflates, so
quickly that some people may not even realize the
air bag inflated. Some components
of the air bag
module
-- 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 parts of the bag
that come into contact with you may be warm, but not
too hot to touch. There will be some smoke and dust
coming from vents in the deflated air bags. Air bag
inflation doesn’t prevent the driver from seeing or from
being able to steer the vehicle, nor does it stop people
from leaving the vehicle.
A CAUTION:
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.
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In many crashes severe enough to inflate an air bag,
windshields are broken by
vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may also occur from
the right front passenger air bag.
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.
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.
Unless you have a Crew Cab, your vehicle has a
switch on
the instrument panel that you can use to
turn off the passenger’s air bag. But use this switch
only when
you want to secure a rear-facing child
restraint at the right front passenger’s position. See
“Securing a Child Restraint in the Right Front Seat
Position” in the Index for more on this, including
important safety information.
A CAUTION:
If the right front passenger’s air bag is turned
off, an adult or a child who is no longer an infant
sitting in the right front passenger’s position
won’t have the extra protection of an air bag.
In
a crash, the air bag wouldn’t be able to inflate
and help protect the person sitting there. Make
sure the air bag
is turned on unless you are using
a rear-facing child restraint in the right front
seat position.
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Center Passenger Position
Lap Belt
If your vehicle has front and rear bench seats, someone
can sit
in the center positions.
I
Rear (Extended and Crew Cab)
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Front (All) Rear (Extended and Crew Cab)
When you sit in a center seating position, you have a lap
safety belt, which has
no retractor. To make the belt
longer, tilt the latch plate and pull it along the belt.
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Front (All)
To make the belt shorter, pull its free end as shown until
the belt
is snug.
Buckle, position
and release it the same way as the lap
part of a lap-shoulder belt. 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.
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.
Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions
(Extended
Cab)
If you have a Crew Cab, see “Rear Seat Outside
Passenger Positions (Crew Cab)” later
in this section.
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Lap-Shoulder Belt (Extended Cab)
The positions next to the windows have lap-shoulder
belts. Here’s how to wear one properly.
.. I
1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Don’t let
it get twisted. If
the belt stops before it reaches the buckle, tilt the latch
plate and keep pulling until you can buckle it.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it
is secure.
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.
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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.
The safety belt locks
if there's a sudden stop or a crash.
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A 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 fit against your body.
Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions (Crew Cab)
If you have an Extended Cab, see “Rear Seat
Outside Passenger Positions (Extended Cab)”
earlier
in this section.
To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
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Lap-Shoulder Belt (Crew Cab)
The positions next to the windows have lap-shoulder
belts. Here’s how to wear one properly.
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 lap 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.
1, Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let it get twisted.
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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’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.
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 fit against your body.
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