PONTIAC GRAND PRIX 1998 Owner's Manual

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.
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.
1-14

4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
hll 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.
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 resb.aining forces.
5. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
The safety belt locks if there’s a sudden stop or crash, or
end of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder belt.
if you pull the belt
very quickly out of the retractor.
1-15

Shoulder Belt Height Adjuster (4-Door Models)
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 lever and move
the height adjuster
to the desired position. You can move
the adjuster up just
by pushing up on the shoulder belt
guide. After you move the adjuster to where you want
it,
try to move it down without squeezing the release lever
to make sure it
has locked into position.
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.
1-16

&: What’s wrong with this?
A: The shoulder belt is too loose. It won’t give nearly
as much protection
this way.
A 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.
1-17

@ What’s wrong with this?
A: The belt is buckled in the wrong place.
A CAUTION:
-
You can be seriously injured if 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.
1-18

What’s wrong with this?
I
A: The shoulder belt is worn under the arm. It should
be
worn over the shoulder at all times.
A CAUTION:
You can be seriously injured if you wear the
shoulder belt under your arm.
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.
1-19

@ What's wrong with this?
A: The belt is twisted across the body.
You can be seriously injured by a twisted belt. In
a crash, you wouldn't have the full width of the
belt to spread impact forces. If
a belt is twisted,
make it straight
so it can work properly, or ask
your dealer to fix it.
1-20

To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
The belt should go back out of the way.
Before you close the door, be sure the belt is out
of the
way.
If you slam the door on it, you can damage both the
belt and your vehicle.
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, below
the rounding, throughout the pregnancy.
1-21

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
To learn how to wear the right fiont passenger’s safety belt
properly,
see “Driver Position” earlier in this section.
The right front passenger’s safety belt works the same way
as
the driver’s safety belt -- except for one thing. If you ever pull
the shoulder portion of the belt out all the way, you will
engage the child restraint locking feature. If this happens, just
let the belt go back
all the way and start again.
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)
This part explains the Supplemental Restraint System
(SRS) or air bag system.
Your vehicle has “Next Generation” reduced-force
frontal
air bags -- one air bag for the driver and another
air bag for the right front passenger.
Reduced-force
fiontal air bags are designed to help reduce
the risk of injury from
the force of an inflating air bag. But
even these
air bags must inflate very quickly if they are to
do their job and comply with federal regulations. Here are the most important things to
know about the air
bag system:
’
A CAUTION: I
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash if
you aren’t wearing your safety belt -- even if you
have air bags. Wearing your safety
belt during a
crash helps reduce your chance of hitting things
inside the vehicle or being ejected from it. Air bags
are %pplemental restraints” to the safety belts.
All air bags -- even reduced-force air bags -- are
designed to work with safety belts, but don’t
replace them.
Air bags are designed to work only
in moderate to severe crashes where the front of
your vehicle hits something. They aren’t designed
to inflate at
all in rollover, rear, side or low-speed
frontal crashes.
And, for unrestrained occupants,
reduced-force
air bags may provide less protection
in frontal crashes than more forcefid air bags have
provided
in the past. Everyone in your vehicle
should
wear a safety belt properly -- whether or
not there’s
an air bag for that person.

A 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.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
Neither the vehicle’s safety belt system nor its
airbag 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.
There is an air bag readiness
light on the instrument
panel, which shows
SRS
SRS AIR BAG AIRBAG.
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.
1-23