PONTIAC BONNEVILLE 1994 User Guide

Seats & Restraint Systems
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Head Restraints
Slide the head restraint up or down so that
the top of the restraint is closest
to the top
of your ears.
This position reduces the chance of a
neck injury in a crash.
On some models, you can also adjust the
head restraint
by tilting the pad forward or
rearward.
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Safety Belts: They’re
For Everyone
This part of the manual tells you how to
use safety belts properly. It also tells you
some things you should not do with safety
belts
.
And it explains the Supplemental
Inflatable Restraint, or “air bag” system.
This figure lights up as a reminder to
buckle
up. (See “Safety Belt Reminder
Light”
in the Index.)
In many states and Canadian provinces,
the law says to wear safety belts. Here’s
why: They work.
You never know if you’ll be in a crash. If
you do have a crash, you don’t know
if it
will be a bad one.
A few crashes are mild, and some crashes
:an be
so serious that even buckled up a
person wouldn’t survive.
But most
:rashes are
in between. In many of them,
people who buckle up can survive and
sometimes walk away. Without belts they
could have been badly hurt or killed.
After more than
25 years of safeiy belts in
vehicles, the facts are clear. In most
crashes buckling up does matter
4.. a lot!
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Seats & Restraint Systems
Why Safety Belts Work
When you ride in or on anything, you go
as fast as
it goes.
For example, if the bike is going 10 mph
(16 km/h), so is the child. When the bike hits
the block, it stops.
But
the child keeps going!
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Take
just a the simplest vehicle.
seat on wheels. Suppose it’s
..- , . . I
Get it up
to speed. Then stop the vehicle.
The rider doesn’t stop.
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Seats & Restraint Systems
Why Safety Belts Work
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The person keeps going until stopped by
something.
In a real vehicle,
it could be the
windshield
...
0 0.14
or the instrument panel ... or the safety belts!
With safety belts,
you slow down as the
vehicle does.
You get more time to stop.
You stop over more distance, and your
strongest bones take the forces. That’s
why safety belts make such good sense.
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Here Are Questions
Many People Ask
About Safety Belts --
and the Answers
Q: Won’t I be trapped in the vehicle
after an accident if
I’m wearing a
safety belt?
A: You could be -- whether you’re
wearing a safety belt
or not. But you
can easily unbuckle a safety belt, even
if you’re upside down. And your
chance of being conscious during and
after an accident,
so you can unbuckle
and get
out, is much greater if you are
belted.
Q: Why don’t they just put in air bags
so people won’t have to wear safety
belts?
A: Air bags, or Supplemental Inflatable
Restraint systems, are
in some
vehicles today and
will be in more of
them in the future. But they are
supplemental systems only
-- so they
work safety belts, not instead
of
them. Every air bag system ever
offered for sale has required the use of safety belts.
Even
if you’re in a
vehicle that has air bags, you still have
to buckle up to get the most
protection. That’s true not only
in
frontal collisions, but especially in
side and other collisions.
Q: If I’m a good driver, and I never
drive far from home, why should
I
wear safety belts?
A: You may be an excellent driver, but if
you’re in an accident -- even one that
isn’t your fault
-- you and your
passengers can be hurt. Being a good
driver doesn’t protect you from things
beyond your control, such as bad
drivers.
Most accidents occur within 25 miles
(40 km) of home. And the greatest
number of serious injuries and deaths
occur at speeds
of less than 40 mph
(65 km/h).
Safety belts are for everyone.
BELTS
Safety Belt Reminder
Light
Yhen the key is turned to “Run” or
Start”, a chime will come on for about
ight seconds to remind people
to fasten
heir safety belts. The safety belt light
vi11 also come on and stay on for about
10 seconds. If the driver’s belt is already
buckled, neither the chime nor the light
vill come on.
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Seats & Restraint Systems
How To Wear Safety
Belts
Properly
Adults
This section is only for people of adult
size.
Be aware that there are special things to
know about safety belts and children.
And there are different rules for smaller
children and babies.
If a child will be
riding in your Pontiac, see the section
located later
in this part called “Children.’’
Follow those rules for everyone’s
protection.
First, you’ll want to know which restraint
systems your vehicle has.
We’ll start with the driver position.
Driver Position
This section describes the driver’s
restraint system.
lap-Shoulder Belt
The driver has a lap-shoulder belt. Here’s
low to wear it properly.
I. Close and lock the door.
2. Adjust the seat (to see how, see
“Seats” in the Index)
so you can sit up
straight.
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3: Pick up the latch plate and pull the
belt across you. Don’t let
it get
twisted.
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.
I I
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.
Shoulder Belt Height Adjuster
You can move the shoulder belt adjuster
to the height that is right for you.
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Seats & Restraint Systems
I Lap-Shoulder Belt (CONK)
To move it up or down, squeeze the
release handle. When you release the
handle, try to move
it down a little to
make sure it has locked into position.
You can move the adjuster up from a
lower position by pushing the bottom of
the release handle. Adjust the
height
so that the shoulder
portion of the belt is properly positioned
on your shoulder, away from your face
and neck.
To help you find a height that is right for
you, follow these guidelines:
For a tall person: Use the upper or
upper-middle position.
For a person
of averaEe heipht: Use a
position somewhere in the middle.
For a short person: Use the lower or
lower-middle position.
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Q: What’s wrong with this?
A: The shoulder belt is too loose. It
won’t give nearly as much protection
this way.
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Q: What’s wrong with this?
A: The belt is buckled in the wrong
place.
Q: What’s wrong with this?
A: The shoulder belt is worn under the
arm, It should be
worn over the
shoulder at
all times.
Q: What’s wrong with this?
A: The belt is twisted across the body.
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