belt PONTIAC GRAND AM 2000 Owner's Manual

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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
Lap-Shoulder Belt
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.
The shoulder belt may lock if you pull the belt across
you very quickly. If this happens, let the belt go back
slightly to unlock it. Then pull the belt across you
more slowly.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.

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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 ªSafety Belt
Extenderº 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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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,
or if you pull the belt very quickly out of the retractor.
CAUTION:
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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Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
Rear shoulder belt comfort guides will provide added
safety belt comfort for children who have outgrown
child restraints and for small adults. When installed on
a shoulder belt, the comfort guide pulls the belt away
from the neck and head.
There is one guide for each outside passenger position in
the rear seat. To provide added safety belt comfort for
children who have outgrown child restraints and for
smaller adults, the comfort guides may be installed on
the shoulder belts. Here's how to install a comfort guide
and use the safety belt:
1. Pull the elastic cord out from between the edge of
the seatback and the interior body to remove the
guide from its storage clip.

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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.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.

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4. Buckle, position and release the safety belt as
described in ªRear Seat Outside Passenger Positionsº
earlier in this section. Make sure that the shoulder
belt crosses the shoulder.To remove and store the comfort guides, 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 seatback
and the interior body, leaving only the loop of elastic
cord exposed.
Center Passenger Position

1-36 Lap Belt
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 ªSafety Belt Extenderº 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.

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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
CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to, any
air bag when it inflates can be seriously injured
or killed. 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.
CAUTION:
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
it should. 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 infant restraint.
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 frontal 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 first trip in a motor vehicle.

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A booster seat (F) is designed for children who
are about 40 to 60 lbs., or even up to 80 lbs.
(18 to 27 kg, or even up to 36 kg), and about
four to eight years of age. A booster seat is
designed to improve the fit of the vehicle's safety
belt system. Booster seats with shields use lap
-only
belts; however, booster seats without shields use
lap
-shoulder belts. Booster seats can also help a
child to see out the window.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:

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Anchor the top strap to this bracket. Once you have the
top strap anchored, you'll be ready to secure the child
restraint itself.
Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear
Outside 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.