belt OLDSMOBILE SILHOUETTE 1997 Owner's Guide

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2. Place the guide over the belt and insert the two edges
of the belt into the slots of the guide.
3. Be sure that the belt is not twisted and it lies flat. The
guide must be on
top of the belt.
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4. Buckle, position and release the safety belt as
described in “Rear Seat Outside Passenger Positions”
earlier
in this section. Make sure that the shoulder
belt crosses the shoulder.
To remove and store the comfort guides, squeeze the
belt edges together
so that you can take them out from
the guides. Then just let the guide hang from its elastic
cord on the side
of the seatback.
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Center Passenger Position Lap Belt
I
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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
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.
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Q: What if the top of my child’s shoulders is above
the shoulder belt slots for the five-point child
restraint harness system?
A: A child whose shoulders are above the shoulder
belt slots for the five-point child restraint harness
system shouldn’t use
this child restraint. Instead,
the child should sit on the vehicle’s regular seat
cushion and use the vehicle’s adult safety belts.
BEFORE YOU USE THIS CHILD RESTRAINT,
BE SURE THE TOP OF THE CHILD’S
SHOULDERS IS BELOW THE SLOTS THAT
THE HARNESS GOES THROUGH.
A CHILD
WHOSE SHOULDERS ARE ABOVE THOSE
SLOTS COULD BE INJURED DURING
A
SUDDEN STOP OR CRASH. IF THE TOP OF
THE CHILD’S SHOULDERS IS ABOVE THE
SLOTS, DON’T USE THIS CHILD
RESTRAINT WHILE THE VEHICLE IS
IN MOTION.
Securing a Child in the Built-In
Child Restraint
1. Raise the head restraint until the lower edge of the
head restraint is even with the top of the seatback.
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You’ll be using the child restraint’s harness (A) to
secure your child. Don’t use the vehicle’s safety belts.
/A CAUTION:
Using the vehicle’s regular safety belts on a child
seated on the child restraint cushion
can cause
serious injury to the child in a sudden stop
or
crash. If a child is the proper size for the built-in
child restraint, secure the child using the child
restraint’s harness. But children who are too
large
for the built-in child restraint should sit on
the vehicle’s regular seat and use the vehicle’s
adult safety belts.
WARNING! FAILURE TO FOLLOW THE
MANUFACTURER’S INSTRUCTIONS ON THE
USE OF THIS CHILD RESTRAINT
SYSTEM
CAN RESULT IN YOUR CHILD STRIKING THE
VEHICLE’S INTERIOR DURING
A SUDDEN
STOP OR CRASH. SNUGLY ADJUST THE
BELTS PROVIDED WITH THIS CHILD
RESTRAINT AROUND YOUR CHILD.
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2.
3.
4.
5.
Unlatch the harness by pushing the button on
the buckle.
Move
one side of the harness off the child's shoulder.
Move the other side of the harness off the
child's shoulder.
Remove the child from the child restraint cushion.
Storing the Built-In Child Restraint
Always properly store the built-in child restraint before
using
the vehicle's lap-shoulder belt.
1. Move both latch plates and both sides of the shoulder
harness clip to the bottom
of the harness straps.
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5. Rotate the head restraint forward and push it all the
Just like
the other restraint systems in your vehicle, your
built-in child restraint needs to be periodically checked and may need to have parts replaced after a crash. See
“Checking Your Restraint Systems’’ and “Replacing Seat
and Restraint System Parts After a Crash”
in the Index.
way
down.
Child Restraints
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.
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. Never put a rear-facing
child restraint
in the front passenger seat. Here’s why:
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A child in a reapfacing child restraint can be
seriously injured if the right front passenger’s air
bag inflates.
This is because the back of a
rearfacing child restraint would be very close
to
the inflating air bag. Always secure a rearfacing
child restraint in a rear seat.
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.
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.
Top Strap
If your child restraint has a top strap, it should be
anchored. A child restraint with a top strap should only
be used in the second row. Anchor brackets for the second row outside positions are located just above the
place where the third row lap-shoulder belts meet
the
floor.
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Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear
Outside Seat Position
n
There’s a vinyl sleeve there; to get to the bracket, push
this vinyl sleeve aside slightly. Anchor the top strap to
the bracket.
If you need to have an anchor bracket
installed for the right-hand side of a
60/40 bench seat,
you can ask your Oldsmobile retailer to
put it in for you.
If you want to install an anchor bracket yourself, your
retailer can
tell you how to do it.
Once you have the top strap anchored, you’ll be ready to
secure
the child restraint itself. You’ll be
using the lap-shoulder belt. See the earlier part
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.
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