PONTIAC BONNEVILLE 1993 Owner's Guide

Seats & Safety 6elts
Center Passenger Position
If your vehicle has rear and/or front
bench seats, someone can sit in the
center positions. When
you sit in a center seating
position, you have a lap safety belt,
which has
no retractor.
To make the belt longer, tilt the latch
plate and pull it along the belt. 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 the
Index under Safety Belt Extender.
Make sure the release button on the
buckle faces upward or outward
so you
would be able to unbuckle it quickly if
you ever had to.
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Rear Seat Passengers
It’s very important for rear seat
passengers to buckle up! Accident statistics show that unbelted people in
the rear seat are hurt more often in
crashes than those who are wearing
safety belts.
Rear passengers who aren’t safety belted
can be thrown out of the vehicle in a
crash. And
they can strike others in the
vehicle who are wearing safety belts.
Rear Seat Outside Passenger
Positions
The positions next to the windows have
lap-shoulder belts.
I
Here’s How to Wear One Properly:
1 . Pick up the latch plate and pull it
across
you. Don’t let it get twisted.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle
until it clicks.
When the lap 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 the
Index under Safety Belt Extender.
Make sure the release button on the
buckle faces upward
or outward so you
would be able to unbuckle it quickly if
you ever had to.
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Ifety 6elts
Rear Seat Outside Passenger
Positions
(CONT:)
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.
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The safety belt locks if there’s a sudden
stop or a crash.
a,
You can be seriously hurt if
your shoulder belt is too
loose, €n a crash, you would mm
forwand too much, which could
increase injury. The shoulder belt
should fit against your body.
To unlatch the belt, just push the button
on the buckle.
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I Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! That includes infants and all children
smaller than adult size. In fact, the law
in every state and Canadian province
says children up to some age must be
restrained while in a vehicle.
S rmaller 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 itshould. 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 infimt
restraint
*
, Never hold a baby in your
- L arms while riding in a vehicle.
A baby doesn’t weigh much-until
a crash.
During a crash a baby will
become so heavy you can’t hold it.
For example, in a crash at only
25 mph (40 km/h), a E-pound
(5.5 kg) baby will suddedy
become a 240-pound (110 kg) force
on your arms. The baby would be
.almost impossible to hold.
(Coratinud]
33 ...
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Seats & Safety 6elts
I xi11
Smaller Children and Babies
(CONT)
Child Restraints
Be sure to 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 the rear seat. If your vehicle has an air bag for the
front passenger,
never put a rear-facing
child restraint
in the front passenger
seat. Here’s
why :
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A child in a rear-facing child
L restraint can be seriously
1nJured 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.
If your
vehicle has a right-front
passenger’s air bag, always secure
a rear-facing child restraint
in the
rear seat.
You may secure a forward-facing
child restraint in the right-front
seat. However, before securing a
forward-facing child restraint,
ALWAYS move the front passenger
seat as far back as
it will go. Or,
secure the child restraint in the
rear seat.
I
I A A child in a child restraint in
L the front-center seat can be
badly injured by the passenger air
bag if it inflates.
NEVER use a
child restraint in the front-center
seat. It’s always better
to secure a
child restraint
in the rear seat. You
may, however, secure a forward-
facing child restraint
in the right-
front passenger seat
only with the
seat moved all the way back. :cure
the child restraint properly.
A
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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Seats & Safety 6elts
A
I 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
Pontiac 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 the center rear seating
position. Additional anchor brackets for
child restraints at one or both of the rear
outside seating positions are available at
Pontiac 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.
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 un-
buckle it quickly
if you ever need to.
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5. Pull the rest of the lap belt all the way
out of
the retractor to set the lock.
6. To tighten the belt, feed it into the
retractor while you push down on the
child restraint. 7. 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.
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Seats & Safety 6elts
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.
1 X1117 1
1. Make the belt as long as possible by
tilting the latch plate and pulling it
along the belt.
the instructions for the child
restraint.
as the instructions say.
2. Put the restraint on the seat. Follow
3. Secure the child in the child restraint
4. Run the vehicle's safety belt through
or around the restraint. The child
restraint instructions will show you
how.
release button faces upward or out-
ward,
so you'll be able to unbuckle it
quickly if you ever need to.
6. To tighten the belt, pull its free end
while
you push down on the child
restraint.
5. Buckle the belt. Make sure the
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7. Push and pull the child restraint in
different directions to
be sure it is
secure.
If the child restraint isn’t
secure, turn the latch plate over and
buckle it again. Then see if it
is
secure. If it isn’t, secure the restraint
in a different place in the vehicle and
contact the child restraint maker
for
their advice.
To remove the child restraint, just
unbuckle the vehicle’s safety belt. It will
be ready to work for an adult or larger
child passenger.
A rear-fixing child restraint in
the front seat could be pushed
into
the seatback by the right-front
passenger’s air bag if it inflates.
A
child in a rear-facing child restraint
can
be seriously injured if this
happens. Always secure a rear-
facing child restraint in the rear
seat.
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