1997 Chevrolet Suburban Owner's Manual - Page 28

Here Are Questions ManyPeople Ask About Safety Belts-- and the Answers @' Won't I be trapped in the vehicle after an accident if I'm wearing a safety belt? You couEd be -- whether you're wearing a safety belt or not. But you can unbuckle a safety belt, even if you're upside down. And your chance of being conscious during and after an accident, so you can unbuckle and get out, is much greater if you are belted. A: &= If my vehicle has air bags, why shouldI have to wear safety belts? A: or the safety belts! With safety belts, you slow down as the vehicle does. You get more time to stop. You stop over more distance, and your strongest bones take the forces. That's why safety belts make such good sense. Air bags are inmany vehicles today and will be in most of them in the future. But they are supplemental systems only; so they work with safety belts -- not instead of them. Every air bag system ever offered for salehas required the use of safety belts. Even if you're in a vehicle that has air bags, you still have to buckle up to get the most protection. That's true not only in frontal collisions, but especially in side and other collisions. 1-21