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176
Safety
belts
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in-
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 199 A
driver not wearing a safety belt is violently
thrown forward
Fig.
200 A rear passenger not wearing a safety belt
will fly forward and strike the drive r
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the
tremendous forces of impact by holding tight
or bracing themselves. Without the benefit of
safety restraint systems, the unrestrained oc-
cupant will slam violently into the steering
wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or what-
ever else is in the way
q
fig. 199. This impact
with the vehicle interior has all the energy
they had just before the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
additional protection. Airbags are not sup-
posed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Al-
though your Audi is equipped with airbags, all
vehicle occupants, including the driver, must
wear safety belts correctly in order to mini-
mize the risk of severe injury or death in a
crash.
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety belts are always
there to offer protection in those accidents in
which airbags are not supposed to deploy or
when they have already deployed. Unbelted
occupants can also be thrown out of the vehi-
cle where even more severe or fatal injuries
can occur .
It is also important for the rear passengers to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbelted passen-
gers in the rear seats endanger not only them-
selves but also the driver and other passen-
gers¢ fig. 200. In a frontal collision they will
be thrown forward violently, where they can
hit and injure the driver and/or front seat pas-
senger.
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.
201 Driver is correctly restrained in a sudden brak-
ing maneuver
Safety belts used properly can make a big dif-
ference. Safety belts help to keep passengers
in their seats, gradually reduce energy levels
applied to the body in an accident, and help
prevent the uncontrolled movement that can
cause serious injuries. In addition, safety belts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the
vehicle.
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and
give them the benefit of being slowed down
more gently or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety
features engineered into today's vehicles. By
"absorbing" the kinetic energy over a longer
period of ti me, the safety belts make the
lilJJ,
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