Seat ibiza Owner's Manual page 12

10 Seat belts
In case of a frontal collision accident, the occupants who are not
belted up are thrown forwards and collide with parts of the vehicle
interior, e.g. the steering wheel, instrument panel or windscreen.
Vehicle occupants who are not belted in may even be thrown out of
the vehicle. This could even lead to serious injuries.
The wide spread opinion that you can protect your body with your
hands in the event of a light accident is not correct. Even at low
speeds of collision, forces which cannot be deflected act on the
body.
It is also important that occupants sitting in the rear seats are
belted in as they can also be thrown out of the vehicle in the event
of an accident. Somebody sitting in the rear and not using a seat
belt is endangering not only himself but also the occupants of the
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front seats.
Protecting seat belts
B1H-123
Fig. 5
Seat belts which are worn properly contribute to the correct seating
position of the vehicle's occupants. The seat belts help reduce
kinetic energy considerably.
They also prevent uncontrollable movements which can also be the
cause of severe injuries.
Vehicle occupants who wear their seat belts correctly benefit
greatly from the fact that kinetic energy is absorbed by the belt.
The vehicle front structure and other passive safety measures, such
as the Air Bag System, also guarantee a reduction in kinetic
energy. The energy created is thus kept to a low level and the risk
of injury reduced.
Our examples describe frontal crashes. These physical principles
also apply, of course, to other types of accidents and to vehicles
with the Air Bag System.
This is why you m m u u s s t t put on your seat belt before every journey,
even if you are only going "just around the corner". Please also
ensure that your passengers are correctly belted in.
You have seen how seat belts function in the case of an accident
on previous pages.
Accident statistics have proven that the risk of injury is reduced
and the chance of survival in a serious accident is increased if the
seat belt is worn properly.
For this reason, the wearing of seat belts is a legal requirement in
most countries.
The correct method of wearing the seat belt, and how the Air Bag
System functions, is described on the following pages.
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