Audi R8 2017 Owner's Manual page 178

Sa f e ty belts
to offer protection in those accidents in whic h
airbags are not supposed to deploy or when they
have a lready deployed. Unbelted occupants can
also be thrown out of the vehicle where even
more severe or fatal injuries can occur.
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision. It's simply
not true!
Fig. 139 Driver is cor rectly restrai ned in a sudde n brak ing
m ane uver.
Safety belts used properly can make a big differ-
ence. Safety belts help to keep passengers in
their seats, gradually reduce energy levels ap -
plied to the body in an accident, and he lp prevent
the uncon tr olled movement tha t can cause se ri-
ous injur ies. In addition, safety belt s reduce the
da nger of being thrown out of the vehicle .
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and give
them the benefi t of being slowed down more
gent ly or "softly" through the "give" in t he safety
be lts, crush zones and other safety features e ngi-
nee red into today's vehicles . By "absorbing" the
kinetic energy ove r a longer period of time, the
safety belts make the forces on the body more
"tolerable" and less likely to cause injury.
Although these examples are based on a fronta l
collision, safety belts can also substantially re-
duce the risk of inju ry in other kinds of crashes.
So, whether you're on a long trip or just going to
the corner store, always buckle up and make sure
others do, too. Accident stat istics show that vehi-
cle occupants properly wear ing safety belts have
a lower risk of being injured and a much better
chance of surviving a n accident. Properly using
176
safe ty belts also great ly increases the ability of
the supp lemental airbags to do their job in a col-
lis ion . For this reason, wearing a safety belt is le-
gally required in most countries including much
of the United States and Canada.
Although your Audi is equipped with airbags, you
still have to wear the safety belts provided . Front
airbags, for examp le, are activated only in some
frontal collisions. The front airbags are not acti·
vated in a ll frontal collisions, in side and rear col-
lis io ns, in roll overs or in cases where the re is not
enough deceleration through impact to the front
of the vehicle . The same goes for t he other a irbag
systems in your Audi. So, always wear your safety
belt and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly rest rained!
Important safety instructions about safety
belts
Safety belts must always be correctly positioned
across the strongest bones of your body.
.. Always wear safety belts as illustrated and de -
scribed in this chapter.
.. Make sure that your safety be lts are always
ready for use and are not damaged.
A
WARNING
Not wear ing safety be lts or wearing t hem im-
properly increases the risk of se rious personal
injury and death. Safety belts can work o nly
when used correctly.
- Always faste n your safety belts correct ly be-
fore d riving off an d make sure a ll passen-
ge rs a re correctly rest rai ned.
- For maxim um protection, safety belts must
a lways be positioned prope rly o n the body .
- Never strap more t han one person, includ-
ing small children, into any belt.
- Never place a safety belt over a ch ild sitting
on yo ur lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwe ll in front of
the seat while the veh icle is being driven .
- Never let any person ride with the ir feet on
the instrument panel or stick ing out the
window or on the seat .