Seat Mii 2019 Owner's Manual page 58

twisted inside the side trim after being wound
too quickly on unfastening:
Pull out the seat belt completely, carefully
●
pulling on the latch plate.
Untwist the belt and guide it back, assisting
●
it by hand.
The seat belt must be fastened even if it is im-
possible to untwist it. In this case, the twisted
area must not be in an area in direct contact
with your body. Have the seat belt untwisted
urgently by a specialised workshop.
WARNING
An improperly handled seat belt increases
the risk of sustaining severe or fatal injuries.
Regularly check that the seat belts and
●
their components are in perfect condition.
Always keep your seat belt clean.
●
Do not jam or damage the seat belt or
●
rub it with sharp edges.
Make sure there are no liquids or foreign
●
bodies on the latch plate and in the buckle.
56
Safety
Head-on collisions and the laws of
physics
A driver not wearing a seat belt is
Fig. 71
thrown forward violently.
The unbelted passenger in the rear
Fig. 72
seat is thrown forward violently, hitting the driv-
er who is wearing a seat belt.
The effects of the laws of physics in the case
of a head-on collision are easy to explain: the
moment a vehicle starts moving, a type of en-
ergy called "kinetic energy" starts acting on
both the vehicle and its passengers.
The amount of "kinetic energy" depends on
the speed of the vehicle and on the weight of
the vehicle and of its passengers. The higher
the speed and the greater the weight, the
more energy there is to be "absorbed" in an
accident.
The most significant factor, however, is the
speed of the vehicle. If the speed doubles
from 25 km/h (15 mph) to 50 km/h (30 mph),
for example, the corresponding kinetic ener-
gy is multiplied by four.
Because the vehicle occupants in our exam-
ple are not restrained by seat belts, in the
event of crashing against a wall, all of the oc-
cupants' kinetic energy will be absorbed
solely by said impact.
Even at speeds of 30 km/h (19 mph) to
50 km/h (30 mph), the forces acting on bod-
ies in a collision can easily exceed one tonne
(1000 kg). At greater speed these forces are
even higher.
Vehicle occupants not wearing seat belts are
not "attached" to the vehicle. In a head-on
collision, they will move forward at the same
speed their vehicle was travelling just before
the impact. This example applies not only to
head-on collisions, but to all accidents and
collisions.