belt OLDSMOBILE BRAVADA 1998 Owner's Guide

A CAUTIO, 4:
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.
Infants need complete support, including support for
the head and neck. This
is necessary because an infant’s
neck is weak and its head weighs
so much compared
with the rest of its body.
In a crash, an infant in a
rear-facing restraint settles into the restraint,
so the
crash forces can be distributed across the strongest part
of the infant’s body, the back and shoulders.
A baby
should be secured
in an appropriate infant restraint.
This is
so important that many hospitals today won’t
release
a newborn infdnt to its parents unless there is an
infant restraint available for the baby‘s
first trip in a
motor vehicle.
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A booster seat (F, Gj is designed for children who
are about 40 to 60 lbs. ( 18 to 27 kg) and about
four to eight years
of age. It’s designed to improve
the
fit of the vehicle’s safety belt system, Booster
seats
with shields use lap-only belts; however,
booster seats without shields use lap-shoulder
belts. Booster seats can
also help a child to see
out the window.
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When choosing a child restraint, 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. Both the owner’s
manual and the child restraint instructions are important,
so if either one of these is not available, obtain a
replacement copy from the manufacturer.
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 a rear seat outside position.
Never put a
rear-facing child restraint in the front passenger seat.
Here’s why:
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 a rear seat outside position.
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 a rear
seat outside position.
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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Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear
Outside Seat Position
You’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt. See the earlier part
about the top strap if the child restraint has one. Be sure
to follow
the instructions that came with the child
restraint. Secure the child in the child restraint when and
3. Buckle the belt. Make Sure the release button is
as the instructions say. positioned
so you would be able to unbuckle the
1. Put the restraint on the seat. safety belt quickly
if you ever had to.
2. 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. Pull the rest of the shoulder belt all the way out of
the retractor to set the lock. 5. To tighten the belt, feed the shoulder belt back into
the retractor while you push down on the child
restraint. If you’re using a forward-facing child
restraint,
you may find it helpful to use your knee
to push down
on the child restraint as you tighten
the belt.
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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’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt. See the earlier part
about the top strap
if the child restraint has one. Be sure
to follow the instructions that came with the child
restraint.
Secure the child in the child restraint when and
as the instructions say.
1. Because your vehicle has a right front passenger air
bag, always move the seat as far back as
it will go
before securing
a forward-facing child restraint.
(See “Seats” in the Index.)
2. Put the restraint on the seat.
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.
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.
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5. Pull the rest of the shoulder belt all the way out of
the retractor to set the lock. 6. To tighten the belt, feed the shoulder belt back into the
retractor while you push down
on the child restraint.
You may find it helpful to use your knee to push down
on the child restraint
as you tighten the belt.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle's
safety belt and let it
go back all the way. The safety belt
will move freely again and be ready to work for an adult
or larger child passenger. directions
to be sure it
is secure.
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Larger Children If you have the choice, a child should sit next to a
window so the child can wear a lap-shoulder belt and
get the additional restraint a shoulder belt can provide.
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained
in the rear seat. But they need to use the
safety belts properly.
Children who aren’t buckled up can be thrown out in
a crash.
Children who have outgrown child restraints should
wear the vehicle’s safety belts.
Children who aren’t buckled up can strike other
people who are.
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Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same belt. The
belt can't 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.
e: 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: Move the child toward the center of the vehicle, but
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 sitting
in a rear seat outside position. see
"Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides"
in the Index. 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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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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