Mercedes-Benz SL Roadster 2012 Owner's Manual page 55

Occupant safety
52
rate of deceleration or acceleration of the
vehicle. This process is pre-emptive in nature.
The triggering process must take place in
good time at the start of the collision.
The rate of vehicle deceleration or accelera-
tion and the direction of the force are essen-
tially determined by:
the distribution of forces during the colli-
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sion
the collision angle
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the deformation characteristics of the vehi-
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cle
the characteristics of the object with which
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the vehicle has collided.
Factors which can only be seen and measured
after a collision has occurred do not play a
decisive role in the deployment of an airbag,
nor do they provide an indication of airbag
deployment.
The vehicle may be deformed significantly,
e.g. the bonnet or the wing, without an airbag
being deployed. This is the case if only parts
which are relatively easily deformed are affec-
ted and the rate of deceleration is not high.
Conversely, airbags may be deployed even
though the vehicle suffers only minor defor-
mation. This is the case if, for example, very
rigid vehicle parts such as longitudinal body
members are hit, and sufficient deceleration
occurs as a result.
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The belt tensioners can only be triggered
if the seat belt tongues are correctly
engaged in the seat belt buckles.
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Not all airbags are deployed in an acci-
dent. The different airbag systems work
independently of each other.
How the airbag system works is deter-
mined by the severity of the collision detec-
ted, especially the vehicle deceleration or
acceleration, and the apparent type of acci-
dent:
frontal collision
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side impact
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rear impact
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overturn
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Airbags
Important safety notes
G WARNING
Airbags provide additional protection; they
are not, however, a substitute for seat belts.
Observe the following notes to reduce the risk
of serious or even fatal injury caused by airbag
deployment:
all vehicle occupants – in particular, preg-
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nant women – must wear their seat belt
correctly at all times and lean back against
the backrest, which should be positioned
as close to the vertical as possible. The
head restraint must support the back of the
head at about eye level.
always secure children less than 1.50 m tall
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or under 12 years of age in suitable child
restraint systems.
all vehicle occupants must select a seat
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position that is as far away from the airbag
as possible. The driver's seat position must
allow the vehicle to be driven safely. The
driver's chest should be as far away from
the centre of the driver's airbag cover as
possible.
move the front-passenger seat as far back
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as possible. This is especially important if
you have secured a child in a child restraint
system on the front-passenger seat.
vehicle occupants – in particular, children –
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must not lean their heads into the area of
the window in which the sidebag/headbag
is deployed.
rearward-facing child restraint systems
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must not be fitted to the front-passenger
seat unless the front-passenger front air-
bag has been disabled. The front-passenger
front airbag is disabled if a child restraint
system with transponders for automatic
child seat recognition is fitted to the front-