GMC 1998 Safari Owner's Manual page 54

Smaller Children and Babies
(Except Cargo Vans)
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 if 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.
CAUTION: (Continued)
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 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
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in an appropriate infant restraint. This is so important that
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Smaller children and babies should always be
restrained in a child or infant restraint. The
many hospitals today won't release a newborn infant to
its parents unless there is an infant restraint available for
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the baby's first
trip
in a motor vehicle.
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CAUTION: (Continued)
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