ECU OLDSMOBILE BRAVADA 1998 Owners Manual

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 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.
5. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end
of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder belt. 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 crash, or
if you pull the belt very quickly out of the retractor.
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A CAUTION:
Air bags inflate with great force, faster than the
blink of an eye.
If you’re too close to an inflating
air bag, it could seriously injure you. Safety belts
help keep you in position before and during a
crash. Always wear your safety belt, even with air
bags. The driver should sit as
far back as possible
while still maintaining control of the vehicle.
/! CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to, an
air bag when it inflates can be seriously injured
or killed.
Air bags plus lap-shoulder belts offer
the best protection for adults and older children,
but not for young children and infants. Neither
CAUTION: (Continued) the
vehicle’s safety belt system nor
its air bag
system
is designed for them. Young children and
infants need the protection that
a child restraint
system can provide. Always secure children
properly in your vehicle. To read how, see the
part of this manual called “Children” and see
the caution labels
on the sunvisors and the right
front passenger’s safety belt.
There is an air bag readiness
light on the instrument
panel, which shows the
air bag symbol.
The system checks the air bag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells
you if there is an electrical
problem. See “Air Bag Readiness Light” in the Index
for more information.
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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. The 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.
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 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.
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Lap Belt
When you sit in the center rear seating position, you
have a lap safety belt which has a retractor.
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.
Pull
up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
4. 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.
3. Feed the lap belt into the retractor to tighten it.
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Children Smaller phildren and Babie
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! That includes
infants and all children smaller than adult size. Neither
the distance traveled nor the age and size
of the traveler
changes the need,
for everyone, to use safety restraints.
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.
/r C."' u HON:
Children who are up against, or very close to, an
air bag when it inflates can be seriously injured
or killed.
Air bags plus lap-shoulder belts offer
the best protection for adults and older children, but not for young children and infants. Neither
the vehicle's safety belt system nor its
air bag
system is designed
for them. Young children and
infants need the protection that a child restraint
system can provide. Always secure children
properly in your vehicle.
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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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I CAUTION:
Never hold a baby in your arms while riding in
vehicle.
A baby doesn’t weigh much 9- until a
crash. During a crash a baby will become
so
heavy you can’t hold it. For example, in a crash
CAUTION: (Continued) at
only 25 mph (40
km/h), a 12-lb. (5.5 kg) baby
will suddenly become a 240-1b.
(110 kg) force on
your arms. The baby would be almost impossible
to hold.
Secure the baby in an infant restraint.
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A rear-facing infant restraint (B) positions an infant
to face the rear
of the vehicle. Rear-facing infant
restraints are designed for infants
of up to about
20 lbs. (9 kg) and about one year of age. This type
of restraint faces the rear so that the infant’s head,
neck and body can have the support they need
in a
crash.
Some infant seats come in two parts -- the
base stays secured
in the vehicle and the seat part
is removable.
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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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Top Strap
If your child restraint has a top strap, it should be
anchored. Anchor brackets for the rear outside seat
positions are located on the floor
in the cargo area. Don’t use the front set
of tie-down brackets. Anchor the
top strap to the rearmost bracket on the same side of the
vehicle as the child restraint.
Once you have the top strap anchored, you’ll be ready to
secure the child restraint itself.
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