Mercedes-Benz CLS Operator's Manual page 56

Occupant safety
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The use of seat belts and infant and child
restraint systems is required by law in:
all 50 states
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U.S. territories
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the District of Columbia
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all Canadian provinces
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Even where this is not required by law, all
vehicle occupants should correctly fasten
their seat belts before starting the journey.
i See "Children in the vehicle"
( Y page 58) for further information on
infants and children traveling in the vehicle
as well as on child restraint systems.
Correct use of the seat belts
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WARNING
USE SEAT BELTS PROPERLY
Seat belts can only work when used
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properly. Never wear seat belts in any other
way than as described in this section, as
that could result in serious injuries in the
event of an accident.
Each occupant should wear their seat belt
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at all times, because seat belts help reduce
the likelihood of and potential severity of
injuries in accidents, including rollovers.
The integrated restraint system includes
SRS (driver front air bag, driver's side knee
bag, front-passenger front air bag, side
impact air bags, pelvis air bags, window
curtain air bags for the side windows),
Emergency Tensioning Devices, seat belt
force limiters, and front seat knee bolsters.
The system is designed to enhance the
protection offered to properly belted
occupants in certain frontal (front air bags,
driver's side knee bag and ETDs) and side
(side impact air bags, window curtain air
bags, and ETDs) impacts which exceed
preset deployment thresholds and in
certain rollovers (window curtain air bags
and ETDs).
Never wear the shoulder belt under your
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arm, across your neck or off your shoulder.
In a frontal crash, your body would move
too far forward. That would increase the
chance of head and neck injuries. The seat
belt would also apply too much force to the
ribs or abdomen, which could severely
injure internal organs such as your liver or
spleen.
Adjust the seat belt so that the shoulder
section is located as close as possible to
the middle of the shoulder. It should not
touch the neck. Never pass the shoulder
portion of the seat belt under your arm. For
this purpose, you can adjust the height of
the seat belt outlet.
Position the lap belt as low as possible on
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your hips and not across the abdomen. If
the lap belt is positioned across your
abdomen, it could cause serious injuries in
a crash.
Never wear seat belts over rigid or
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breakable objects in or on your clothing,
such as eyeglasses, pens, keys etc., as
these might cause injuries.
Make sure the seat belt is always fitted
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snugly. Take special care of this when
wearing loose clothing.
Never use a seat belt for more than one
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person at a time. Do not fasten a seat belt
around a person and another person or
other objects at the same time.
Seat belts should not be worn twisted. In a
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crash, you would not have the full width of
the seat belt to distribute impact forces.
The twisted seat belt against your body
could cause injuries.
Pregnant women should also always use a
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lap-shoulder belt. The lap belt portion
should be positioned as low as possible on
the hips to avoid any possible pressure on
the abdomen.
Place the seat backrest in a position that is
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as upright as possible.
Check your seat belt during travel to make
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sure it is properly positioned.