PONTIAC GRAND-AM 1993 Owner's Manual

Seats & Safety 6elts
Automatic Lap-Shoulder Belt
(CONE)
To unbuckle the automatic belt, just
push the button on the buckle.
mmm 20
To reattach the automatic belt:
1. Close and lock the door.
2. Adjust the seat (to see how, see the
Index under Seat Controls) so you
can sit up straight.
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.
Q: What’s wrong with this?
A: The shoulder belt is too loose. It
won’t give nearly as much protection
this way.
loose. In a crash, you would move
forward too much, which could
significantly increase injury. The
shoulder belt should
fit against
your body.
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I: What’s wrong with this?
L: The belt is buckled in the wrong
place.
if
A
You can be seriously injured
your belt
is buckled in the
wrong place like this. In a crash,
the belt would
go up over your
abdomen. The belt forces would
be there, not at the pelvic bones.
This could cause serious internal injuries. Always buckle your belt
into the buckle nearest you.
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.
p== You can be seriously injured if
A you wear the shoulder belt
ullder your ann. In a crash, your
body would move too far forward,
which would increase the chance
of head and neck injury. Also, the
belt would apply too much force to
the ribs, which aren’t as strong as
shoulder bones. You could also
severely injure internal organs like
your liver or spleen.
I: What’s wrong with this?
,: The belt is twisted across the body.
Qr
You can be seriously injured
by a twisted belt. In
a crash,
you wouldn’t have the full width
of
the belt to take impact forces. If a
belt
is twisted, make it straight so
it can work properly, or gsk your
dealer
to fix it.
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Seats & Safety 6elts
Safety Belt Use During
Pregnancy
Safety belts work for everyone,
including pregnant women. Like all
occupants, they are more likely to be
seriously injured if they don’t wear
safety belts.
A pregnant woman should wear a lap-
shoulder belt, and the lap portion should
be worn as low as possible throughout
the pregnancy.
The best way to protect the fetus is to
protect the mother. When a safety belt is
worn properly,
it’s more likely that the
fetus won’t be hurt in a crash. For
pregnant women, as for anyone, the key
to making safety belts effective is
wearing them properly.
Right Front Passenger Position
The right front passenger’s safety belt
works the same way as the driver’s
safety belt.
See the
Index under Driver Position.
Adjust the seat (to see how, see the
Index under Seat Controls) so you can
sit up straight. Move your seat far
enough forward that your feet touch the
part of the vehicle that is called the
“toeboard”
(A). That way you’d be less
likely to slide under the lap belt in a
crash.
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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.
Here's How to Wear One Properly:
1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the
belt across
you. Don't let it get
twisted.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle
until it clicks.
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2
Seats & Safety 6elts
Rear Seat Outside Passenger
Positions
(CONT.)
If the belt stops before it reaches the
buckle, tilt the latch plate and keep
pulling until you can buckle it.
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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.
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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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
a crash.
~~
You can be seriously hurt if
your shoulder belt is too
loose.
In a crash you would move
forward 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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Seats & Safety Belts
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for Children and Small Adults
Your vehicle may be equipped with rear
shoulder belt comfort guides. This
feature will provide added comfort
for
children who have outgrown child
restraints, and for small adults. If your
vehicle does not have comfort guides,
you may ask your dealer to order and
install them for you. The comfort guides
pull the shoulder belts away from
the
neck and head.
I
There is one guide for each outside
passenger position in the rear seat.
You
will find them tucked in between the
seat back and the interior body, about
half-way down the edge of the seat
back. Here is how you should install the
comfort guides on the shoulder belts:
1. Pull the elastic cord out from
between the edge
of the seat back and
the interior body to remove the guide
from its storage clip.
2. Slide the guide under and past the belt.
The elastic cord must be under the
belt. Then, place the guide over the
belt, and insert the two edges of the belt
into the slots
of the guide.
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3. Be sure that the belt is not twisted
and it lies flat. The elastic cord must
be under the belt and the guide
on
top.
4. Buckle the belt around the child, and
make sure that both the lap belt and
the shoulder belt are secured
properly. Make sure that the shoulder
belt crosses the shoulder. See the
Index under Safety Belts.
r
X1 205
To remove and store the comfort guides,
just perform these steps in reverse order.
Squeeze the belt edges together
so that
you can take them out from the guides.
Pull the guide upward
to expose its
storage clip, and then slide the guide
onto the clip. Rotate the guide and clip
inward and in between the seat back and
the interior body, leaving
only the loop
of elastic cord exposed.
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..I
Seats & Safety 6elts
t
Center Passenger Position
If your vehicle has a rear bench seat, someone can sit in the center position.
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When you sit in the 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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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.
Smaller Children and Babies
-
/f Smaller ehifdren aud babies
a child or Snt restraint. The
instructitlns 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 smd that
a regular belt might not stay low
on the hips, as it should, Instead,
the belt will likely be mer the
child’s abdomen. In a crash the
belt would apply hrce 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
lestraint.
hould always be restrained in 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 Mh), a 12-pound
(5.5 kg) baby will suddenly
become a 240-pound (110 kg) force
on your arms. The baby would be
almost impossible to hold.
(Continued)
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