ECU PONTIAC FIREBIRD 1998 Owners Manual

If the belt stops before it reaches the buckle, tilt
the latch plate and keep pulling until you can buckle
the belt.
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.
5. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end
of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder belt.
1-15

I /d CAUTION:
Air bags inflate with great force, faster than the
blink
of an eye. If’ you’re too close to an inflating
air bag, it could seriously injure you. This is true
even with reduced-force frontal air bags. Safety
belts help keep you in position before and during
a crash. Always wear your safety belt, even with
reduced-force
air bags. The driver should sit as
far back as possible while still maintaining
control
of the vehicle.
/I CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to, an
air bag when it inflates can be seriously injured
or killed. This is true even though your vehicle
has reduced-force frontal air bags. Air bags plus
lap-shoulder belts offer the best protection for
adults, but not for young children and infants.
Neither the vehicle’s safety belt system nor its air
CAUTION: (Continued)
II
bag system is designed for them. Young children
and infants need the protection that a child
restraint system can provide. Always secure
children properly in your vehicle. To read how,
see the part of this manual called “Children” and
see the caution labels on the sunvisors and the
right front passenger’s safety belt.
AIR
BAG
There is an air bag
readiness light on the
instrument
panel, which
shows AIR BAG.
The system checks the air bag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is
an electrical
problem. See “Air Bag Readiness Light”
in the Index
for more information.
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If the belt stops before it reaches the buckle, tilt the
latch plate and keep pulling until you can buckle
it.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
If the belt is not 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.
3. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder part.
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To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! That includes
infants and all children smaller than adult size. Neither
the distance traveled nor the age and size of the traveler
changes the need, for everyone, to use safety restraints.
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
-
A CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to, any
air bag when it inflates can be seriously injured
or killed. This is true even though your vehicle
has reduced-force frontal air bags. Air bags plus
lap-shoulder belts offer the best protection for
adults, but not for young children and infants.
Neither the vehicle’s safety belt system nor
its air
bag system is designed for them. Young children
and
infants need the protection that a child
restraint system can provide. Always secure
children properly in your vehicle.
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I A CAUTION:
Smaller children and babies should always be
restrained in a child or infant restraint. The
instructions for the restraint
will say whether i
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 i
should. Instead, the belt will likely be over the
child’s abdomen. In
a crash, the belt would apl
force right on the child’s abdomen, which cod(
cause serious
or fatal injuries. So, be sure that
any child small enough for
one is always prope
restrained in a child or infant restraint.
it is
it
PlY
d
Infants need complete support, including support for
the head and neck. This is necessary because an
infant’s neck is weak and its head weighs so much
compared with the rest of its body.
In a crash, an infant
in a rear-facing restraint settles into the restraint,
so the
crash forces can be distributed across the strongest part
of the infant’s body, the back and shoulders. A baby
should be secured
in an appropriate infant restraint.
This is so important that many hospitals today won’t
release a newborn infant to its parents unless there is
an
infant restraint available for the baby’s fist trip in a
motor vehicle.
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A CAUTION:
L
Never hold a baby in your 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
CAUTION: (Continued) at
only 25 mph (40 km/h),
a 12-1b. (5.5 kg) baby
will suddenly become
a 2404b. (110 kg) force on
your arms. The baby would be almost impossible
to hold.
Secure the baby in an infant restraint.
I I
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A rear-facing infant restraint (B) positions an infant
to face the rear of the vehicle. Rear-facing infant
restraints are designed for infants
of up to about
20 lbs. (9 kg) and about one year of age. This type
of restraint faces the rear
so that the infant’s head,
neck and body can have the support they need in a
crash. Some infant seats come in
two parts -- the
base stays secured in the vehicle and the seat part
is removable.
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When choosing a child restraint, 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. Both the owner’s
manual and the child restraint instructions are important,
so if either one of these is not available, obtain a
replacement copy from the manufacturer.
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. Never put a rear-facing
child restraint in the front passenger seat. Here’s why:
I
A child in a rearfacing child restraint can be
seriously injured
if the right front passenger’s air
bag inflates, even though your vehicle has
reduced-force frontal air bags. This is because
the back of the rearfacing child restraint would
be very close to the inflating
air bag. Always
secure a rearfacing child restraint in a rear seat.
You may secure a forward-facing child restraint
in the right front seat, but before you
do, always
move the front passenger seat as far back as it
will go. It’s better to 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.
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Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear
Seat Position
You’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt. See the earlier
part about the top strap
if the child restraint has one. Be
sure
to follow the instructions that came with the child
restraint. Secure the child in the child restraint when and as the instructions say.
1. Put the restraint on the seat.
2. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder
portions of the vehicle’s safety belt through or
around the restraint.
The child restraint instructions
will show you how.
3. Tilt the latch plate to adjust the belt if needed.
If
the shoulder belt goes in front of the child’s face or
neck, put it behind the child restraint.

4. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button is
positioned
so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly if you ever had to.
5. To tighten the belt, pull up on the shoulder belt while
you push down on the child restraint. If you’re using
a forward-facing child restraint, you may find it
helpful to use your knee to push down on the child
restraint as you tighten the belt.
directions to be sure
it is secure.
6. Push and pull the child restraint in different
To remove the child restraint, just unbucMe 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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