Before you close the door, be sure the belt is out ofthe way. If you slam the door on it, you can damageboth the belt and your vehicle.Safety Belt Use During PregnancySafety belts work for everyone, including pregnantwomen. Like all occupants, they are more likely to beseriously injured if they do not 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.The best way to protect the fetus is to protect themother. When a safety belt is worn properly, it is morelikely that the fetus will not be hurt in a crash. Forpregnant women, as for anyone, the key to makingsafety belts effective is wearing them properly.Right Front Passenger PositionTo learn how to wear the right front passenger’s safetybelt properly, see Driver Position on page 1-13.The right front passenger’s safety belt works the sameway as the driver’s safety belt — except for onething. If you ever pull the shoulder portion of the belt outall the way, you will engage the child restraint lockingfeature which may turn off the passenger’s frontalairbag. If this happens unintentionally, just let the beltgo back all the way and start again.Rear Seat PassengersIt is very important for rear seat passengers to buckleup! Accident statistics show that unbelted people inthe rear seat are hurt more often in crashes than thosewho are wearing safety belts.Rear passengers who are not safety belted can bethrown out of the vehicle in a crash. And they can strikeothers in the vehicle who are wearing safety belts.1-20
