OLDSMOBILE AURORA 1995 Owner's Guide

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 weal- a lap-shoulder belt, and
the lap portion should be worn as low as possible
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 lap portion
of the 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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Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The positions next to the windows 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.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
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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.
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’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.
To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
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Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for Children and Small Adults
Rear shoulder belt comfort guides will provide added
comfort for children who have outgrown child restraints
and for small adults. The comfort guides pull the
shoulder belts away from the neck and head.
There
is one guide for each outside passenger position in
the rear seat. You will find them tucked in between the
seatback and the interior body, about half-way down the edge
of the seatback. Here is how you should install the
comfort guides on the shoulder belts:
1. Pull the elastic cord out from between the edge of
the seatback and the interior body to remove the
guide from its storage clip.
2. Slide the guide under and past the belt. The elastic
cord must be under the belt. Then, place the guide
over the belt, and insert the two edges of
the belt into
the slots
of the guide.
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3. Be sure that the belt is not twisted and it lies flat. The
elastic cord must be under the belt and
the guide on
top.
4. Buckle the belt around the child, and make sure that
both the lap belt and the shoulder belt are secured
properly. Make sure that the shoulder belt crosses the
shoulder. See “Safety Belts, Rear Seat Passengers”
in the Index.
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To remove and store the comfort guides, just perform
these steps in reverse order. Squeeze the belt edges
together
so that you can take them out from the guides.
Pull the guide upward to expose its storage clip, and
then slide the guide onto the clip. Rotate the guide and
clip inward and in between the seatback and the interior
body, leaving only the loop of elastic cord exposed.
Lap Belt
Center Passenger Position
When you sit in the 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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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.
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
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Child Restraints
Be sure to 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 recolnmend 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:
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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