Safety features of your vehicle
263
Seat belts
their face or neck they need to be
returned to a child restraint system.
Small children
Do not allow small children to ride in the
vehicle without an appropriate child
restraint system. If the shoulder belt
comes in contact with your child's neck
or face, your child is too small to ride in
the vehicle. In a crash the seat belt will
inflict injury to your child's neck, throat
and face.
Restraint of pregnant women
Pregnant women should wear lap/shoul
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der belt assemblies whenever possible
according to specific recommendations
by their doctors. The lap portion of the
belt should be worn AS SECURELY AND
LOW AS POSSIBLE.
Pregnant women
Pregnant women must never place the
lap portion of the seat belt above or on
the abdomen where the fetus is located.
The force of the seat belt during a colli
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sion will crush the fetus.
Injured person
A seat belt should be used when an
injured person is being transported.
When this is necessary, you should con
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sult a physician for recommendations.
One person per belt
Two people (including children) should
never attempt to use a single seat belt.
This could increase the severity of inju
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ries in case of an accident.
Do not lie down
To reduce the chance of injuries in the
event of an accident and to achieve
maximum effectiveness of the restraint
system, all passengers should be sitting
up and the front and rear seats should
be in an upright position when the vehi
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cle is moving. A seat belt cannot provide
proper protection if the person is lying
down in the rear seat or if the front and
rear seats are in a reclined position.
Care of seat belts
Seat belt systems should never be disas
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sembled or modified. In addition, care
should be taken to assure that seat belts
and belt hardware are not damaged by
seat hinges, doors or other abuse.
Pinched seat belt
Make sure that the webbing and/or
buckle does not get caught or pinched in
the rear seat when returning the rear
seatback to its upright position. A caught
or pinched webbing/ buckle may
become damaged and could fail during
a collision or sudden stop.
Periodic inspection
All seat belts should be inspected peri
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odically for wear or damage of any kind.
Any damaged parts should be replaced
as soon as possible.
Keep belts clean and dry
Seat belts should be kept clean and dry.
If belts become dirty, they can be
cleaned by using a mild soap solution
and warm water. Chemical substances
should not be used on seat belts to pre
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