Mercedes-Benz 2008 S550 Operator's Manual page 54

Warning!
Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are seat belts available. Make
sure everyone riding in the vehicle is cor-
rectly restrained with a separate seat belt.
Never use a seat belt for more than one per-
son at a time.
Warning!
Damaged seat belts or seat belts that were
highly stressed in an accident must be re-
placed and their anchoring points must also
be checked.
Only use seat belts which have been
approved by Mercedes-Benz.
Do not make any modifications to the seat
belts. This can lead to unintended activation
of the ETDs or to failure.
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Do not bleach or dye seat belts as this may
severely weaken them. In a crash they may
not be able to provide adequate protection.
Have all work carried out only by qualified
technicians. Contact an authorized
Mercedes-Benz Center.
Warning!
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USE SEAT BELTS PROPERLY
Seat belts can only work when used
properly. Never wear seat belts in any
other way than as described in this sec-
tion, as that could result in serious inju-
ries in case of an accident.
Each occupant should wear their seat
belt at all times, because seat belts help
reduce the likelihood of and potential
severity of injuries in accidents, includ-
ing rollovers. The integrated restraint
system includes SRS (driver air bag, pas-
senger front air bag, side impact air
bags, window curtain air bags for door
windows), ETD (seat belt emergency
tensioning device with seat belt force
Safety and Security
limiters), and front seat knee bolsters.
The system is designed to enhance the
protection offered to properly belted oc-
cupants in certain frontal (front air bags
and ETD with seat belt force limiters)
and side (side impact and window cur-
tain air bags) impacts which exceed pre-
set deployment thresholds and in
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certain rollovers (window curtain air
bags and ETD).
Never wear the shoulder belt under your
arm, against your neck or off your shoul-
der. In a frontal crash, your body would
move too far forward. That would in-
crease the chance of head and neck in-
juries. The seat belt would also apply too
much force to the ribs or abdomen,
which could severely injure internal or-
gans such as your liver or spleen.
Never wear seat belts over rigid or
breakable objects in or on your clothing,
such as eyeglasses, pens, SmartKeys,
etc., as these might cause injuries.
Occupant safety
53