belt Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme 1993 s Owner's Guide

Seats & Safety Belts
32
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 the
rear seat unless the child is an infant
and you’re the only adult in the vehicle.
In that case, you might want to secure
the restraint
in the front seat where you
can keep an eye
on the baby.
Wherever
you install it, be sure to
secure the child restraint properly.
Top Strap
If your child restraint has a top strap, it
should be anchored. If you need to have
an anchor installed, you can ask your
Oldsmobile dealer to put it in for you. If
you want to install an anchor yourself,
your dealer can tell you how to do it.
Vehicles first sold in Canada have child
restraint anchor bracket hardware
in
the glove box, along with instructions
for installing it. This should be used
only with a child restraint, and only to
secure a child restraint at
a rear seating
position. Additional anchor brackets for child restraints at the rear seating
positions are available at Oldsmobile
dealerships in Canada.
Securing a Child Restraint in a
Rear Outside Position
You’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt.
See the earlier section about the top
strap if the child restraint has
one.

1. Put the restraint on the seat. Follow
the instructions for the child
restraint.
2. Secure the child in the child restraint
as the instructions say.
3. Pull out the vehicle's safety belt and
run the lap part through or around
the restraint. The child restraint
instructions
will show you how. Tilt
the latch plate to~adjust the belt
if
needed. See if the shoulder belt
would go in front
of the child's face
or neck.
If so, put it behind the child
restraint.
4. Buckle the belt. Make sure the
release button faces upward or
outward,
so you'll be able to
unbuckle it quicldy
if you ever need
to.
5. To tighten the belt, pull up on the
shoulder belt while you push down
on the child restraint.
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34
Securing a Child Restraint in a
Rear Outside Position (CONT.)
6. Push and pull the child restraint in
different directions to be sure it is
secure. 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.
Securing a Child Restraint in a
Center Seat Position
When you secure a child restraint in a
center seating position, you’ll be using
the lap belt.
See the earlier section about the top
strap
if the child restraint has one.

Seats & Safety Belts
36
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat
To use a child restraint here, you will
need a special infant/child seat
attaching belt and the hardware that
goes with it. See the earlier section
about the top strap
if the child restraint
has one.
I’
Your dealer can get these and install the
hardware for you. It’s free. The special
belt is
GM Part No. 12340286. Your
dealer can find the correct hardware in
the accessory section
of the GM Parts
Catalog.
I CAUTION
A
Don’t use the special
infant/child seat attaching
hardware in another vehicle.
If you
do, it may not work well
and the
child may not be protected properly
in a crash. The special hardware is
for your vehicle only.
Also, don’t use the special belt for
anything but securing a child
restraint in the right front seat. If
an adult or older child uses it, the
belt won’t provide protection and
may even increase injury in a crash.

Once the special hardware is installed,
please follow the instructions with it
and these steps:
1. Unbuclde the automatic lap-shoulder
belt by pushing the button
on the
buckle. It will stay on the door, ready
to be rebuclded for use by adults or
older children.
2. Snap one hook of the infant/child
seat attaching belt near the floor at
the door side of the seat. 3. Put the belt’s special latch plate into
the vehicle’s safety belt buckle.
37

8. Put the hook on the free end through
the. slot In the latch plate.
9.To make it tight, pull the bdt while
you push don oa the child
restraint, If the belt won’t. stay tight,
switch it endfor end.
IO. Push. &id pull the chiid restrht iil
different directiofis to be SUI% it is-
secure.

Seats & Safety Belts
40
Larger Children (CONT.)
Children who aren’t buckled up can
strike other people who are.
I CAUTION
I A Never do this.
Here two children are
wearing the same belt. The belt
I properly spread the impact
,,,ces. In a crash, the
two children
can be crushed together and
seriously injured.
A belt must be
used by
-y one son at a time.
Q: 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
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 the center seat
position, the one that has only a lap
belt.

CAUTION
A
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.
Safety Belt Extender
If the vehicle’s safety belt will fasten
around you, you should use it. The
automatic lap-shoulder belt has plenty
of extra length built in, so it will fasten
around almost all people.
But if a safety belt isn’t long enough to
fasten, your dealer will order you an
extender. It’s free. When you go in to
order it, take the heaviest coat
you will
wear,
so the extender will be long
enough for you. The extender
will be
just for you, and just for the seat in your
vehicle that you choose. Don’t let
someone else use it, and use it only for
the seat it is made to fit. To wear it, just
attach it to the regular safety belt.
41

Seats & Safety Belt,,
Checking Your Restra'int Systems
Now and then, make sure all your belts,
buckles, latch plates, retractors,
anchorages and reminder systems are
working properly.
Look for any lmoose
parts or damage. If you see anything
that might keep a restraint system from
Replacing Safety Belts After a
Crash
If you've had a crash, do you need new
belts?
After a very minor collision, nothing may be necessary. But
if the belts were
stretched, as they would be
if warn
during a more severe crash, then you
need new belts.
If you ever see a label on a right front
safety belt that says to replace the belt,
be sure to do
so. Then it will be there to
help protect you in an accident. You
would see
this label on the belt near the
If belts are cut or damaged, replace
them. Collision damage
also may mean
you
will have to have safety belt parts,
like the retractor, replaced or anchorage
locations repaired-even
if the belt
wasn't being used
at the time of the
collision.

I
Q: What’s wrong with this?
A The belt is torn.
CAUTION
A
Torn or frayed belts may not
protect you in a crash. They
can rip apart under impact forces. If
a belt
is torn or frayed, get a new
one right away.