PONTIAC BONNEVILLE 1995 User Guide

But don’t have a seatback reclined if your vehicle is
moving.
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, the head restraints tilt forward and
rearward also.
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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.
Your vehicle has a light that comes on 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 can be so serious
that even buckled up a person wouldn’t survive. But most
crashes 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 safety belts in vehicles, the facts
are clear. In most crashes buckling up does matter ... a lot!
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Why Safety Belts Work
When you ride in or on anything, you go as fast as it
goes.
c I
Take the simplest vehicle. Suppose it’s just a seat on
wheels.
Put someone on it.
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Get it up to speed. Then stop the vehicle. The rider
doesn’t stop. The
person keeps going until stopped by something.
In a real vehicle, it could be the windshield .. .
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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=
A:
A:
”
Won’t I be trapped in the vehicle after an
accident if
I’m wearing a safety belt?
You could be -- whether you’re wearing a safety
belt or not. But you can 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.
Why don’t they just put in air bags so people
won’t have to
wear safety belts?
Air bags are in many vehicles today and will be in
more of them in the future. But they are
supplemental systems only;
so they work with
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.
@’ 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.
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
Adults
This part 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 part of this manual 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.
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Driver Position
This part describes the driver’s restraint system.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The driver has a lap-shoulder belt. Here’s how to wear it
properly.
1. Close and lock the door.
2. Adjust the seat (to see how, see “Seats” in the Index)
so you can sit up straight.
3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Don’t let it get twisted.
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
ths 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.
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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
Before you begin to drive, move the shoulder belt
adjuster to the height that
is right for you.
To move it down, squeeze the release handle and move
the height adjuster to the desired position.
You can move
the adjuster
up just by pushing up on the bottom of the
release handle. After you move the adjuster to where
you want it,
try to move it down without squeezing the
release handle to
make sure it has locked into pasition
Adjust the height so that the shoulder portion of the belt
is centered on your shoulder. The belt should be away
from your face and-neck, but not falling off your
shoulder.
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@ 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?
I I I I I I I I
A: The belt is buckled in the wrong place.
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