belt Oldsmobile Bravada 2003 s Owner's Guide

Child Restraints
Older Children
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 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.
Older children who have outgrown booster seats should
wear the vehicle's safety belts.
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f ~ ~ :es 1 a crash, the two chi1 en 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 is so small that the shoulder belt is very
close to
the child’s face or neck?
S.
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Here two children are wearing the same belt.
The belt can’t properly spread the impact
CAUTION: (Continued)
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A: If the child is sitting in a seat next to a window,
move the child toward the center
of the vehicle.
If the child is sitting in the center rear seat
passenger 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 the belts provide.
If the child
is sitting in the rear seat outside position,
see
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for Children
and Small Adults
on page 1-24.
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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
I
CAUTION: (Continued)
I
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.
Infants and Young Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! This includes
infants and all other children. 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.
Every time infants and young children ride in vehicles,
they should have the protection provided by appropriate restraints. Young children should not use the vehicle’s
adult safety belts alone, unless there is no other choice.
Instead, they need to use a child restraint.
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Children who are up against, or very close to,
any air bag when
it inflates can be seriously
injured or killed. Air bags plus lap-shoulder
belts offer outstanding 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.
Q: What are the different types of add-on child
restraints?
A: Add-on child restraints, which are purchased by the
vehicle’s owner, are available in four basic types.
Selection of a particular restraint should take
into consideration not only the child’s weight, height,
and age but also whether or not the restraint will
be compatible with the motor vehicle
in which it will
be used. For most
basic types
of child restraints, there are
many different models available. When purchasing a
child restraint, be sure it is designed to be used
in a motor vehicle.
if it is, the restraint will have a
label saying that it meets federal motor vehicle
safety standards.
The restraint manufacturer’s instructions that come with the restraint state the weight and height
limitations for a particular child restraint. In addition,
there are many kinds of restraints available for
children with special needs.
Newborn infants need complete sum ort,
~ including support for the head and neck. This is necessary because
a newborn 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 seat settles into the
restraint,
so the crash forces can be
distributed across the strongest part of an infant’s body, the back and shoulders. Infants
always should be secured in appropriate infant restraints.
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Child Restraint Systems
The body structure of a young child is quite
unlike that of an adult or older child, for whom
the safety belts are designed.
A young child’s
hip bones are still so small that the vehicle’s
regular safety belt may not remain low on the
hip bones,
as it should. Instead, it may settle
up around the child’s abdomen.
In a crash, the
belt would apply force on
a body area that’s
unprotected by any bony structure. This alone
could cause serious or fatal injuries. Young children always should be secured in
appropriate child restraints.
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An infant car bed (A), a special bed made for use in a
motor vehicle, is an infant restraint system designed
to restrain or position a child
on a continuous flat
surface. Make sure that the infant’s head rests toward
the center of the vehicle.
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A booster seat (F-G) is a child restraint designed to
improve the fit of the vehicle’s safety belt system. Some
booster seats have a shoulder belt positioner, and
some high-back booster seats have a five-point harness.
A booster seat can also help a child to see out the window.
Q: How do child restraints work?
A: A child restraint system is any device designed for
use in a motor vehicle to restrain, seat, or position
children. A built-in child restraint system is a
permanent part of the motor vehicle. An add-on
child restraint system is a portable one, which
is purchased by the vehicle’s owner.
For many years, add-on child restraints have used
the adult belt system in the vehicle. To help
reduce the chance of injury, the child also has
to be
secured within the restraint. The vehicle’s belt
system secures the add-on child restraint in the
vehicle, and the add-on child restraint’s harness
system holds the child in place within the restraint.
One system, the three-point harness, has straps that
come down over each of the infant’s shoulders and
buckle together at the crotch. The five-point harness
system has two shoulder straps, two hip straps and a
crotch strap. A shield may take the place of hip
straps. A T-shaped shield has shoulder straps that
are attached
to a flat pad which rests low against the
child’s body. A shelf- or armrest-type shield has
straps that are attached
to a wide, shelf-like shield
that swings up or
to the side.
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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. When securing an add-on child restraint, refer
to the instructions that come with the restraint which may
be on the restraint itself or in a booklet, or both, and
to this manual. The child restraint instructions are
important,
so if they are 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,
therefore, recommend that child restraints be secured
in a rear outside seat position including an infant
riding in a rear-facing infant seat, a child riding in a
fonvard-facing child seat and an older child riding in a
booster seat.
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 or killed if the right front
passenger's air bag inflates. This
is because
the back of the 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 secure a forward-facing child restraint in the right front seat, but before you
do, always move the front passenger seat as
far back as
it will go. It's better to 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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With this system, use the LATCH system instead of the
vehicle’s safety belts to secure a child restraint. See
Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear Outside Seat
Position on page
1-40.
If a LATCH-type child restraint isn’t attached to
its anchorage points, the restraint won’t be
able
to protect the child correctly. In a crash,
the child could be seriously injured or killed.
Make sure that
a LATCH-type child restraint is
properly installed using the anchorage points,
or use the vehicle’s safety belts to secure the restraint. See “Securing a Child Restraint
Designed for the LATCH System’’ or “Securing
a Child Restraint in a Rear Outside Seat
Position” in the Index for information on how
to secure a child restraint in your vehicle.
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Securing a Child Restraint Designed
for the LATCH System
1. Find the anchors for the seating position you want
to use, where the bottom of the seatback meets the
back
of the seat cushion.
2. Put the child restraint on the seat.
3. Attach the anchor points on the child restraint to the
anchors in the vehicle. The child restraint
instructions will show you how.
4. If the child restraint is forward-facing, attach the top
strap to the top strap anchor. See
Top Strap on
page
1-36. Tighten the top strap according to
the child restraint instructions.
directions to be sure it is secure.
5. Push and pull the child restraint in different
To remove the child restraint, simply unhook the top strap from the top tether anchor and then disconnect the
anchor points.
Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear
Outside Seat Position
If your child restraint is equipped with the LATCH
system, see
Lower Anchorages and Top Tethers for
Children (LATCH System)
on page 1-38.
You’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt. See Top Strap on
page
1-36 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. Put the restraint on the seat.
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.
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3. 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.
4. Pull the rest of the shoulder belt all the way out of
the retractor to set the lock.
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