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136
S a fet y belt s
with the vehicle interior has all the energy
they had just before the crash.
Never rely on airbags a lone for protec t ion.
Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
addit io nal protection . Airbags are not sup-
posed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Al-
though your Audi is equipped with a irbags, all
vehicle occupants, including the driver, must
wear safety belts correctly in order to min i-
mize the risk of severe injury or death in a
crash .
Remember too, t hat airbags will deploy on ly
once and that your safety belts are always
there to offer protection in those accidents in
which airbags are not supposed to deploy or
when they have a lready deployed . Unbelted
occupants can also be thrown out of the vehi-
cle whe re even more severe o r fatal injur ies
can occu r.
It is also impo rtant for the rear passenge rs to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbelted passen-
gers in the rear seats end a nger not on ly them-
selves but a lso the d river a nd other passen-
gers ~
fig.
134 . In a frontal collision they will
be thrown forward violent ly, where they can
h it and injure the dr iver and/or front seat pas -
senger.
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision. It's simply
not true!
Fig. 135 Driver is correctly restrained in a sudden brak·
i ng m aneuver
Safety belts used properly can make a big dif-
ference . Safety be lts he lp to keep passengers
in their seats, gradually reduce energy levels
applied to the body in an accident, and help
prevent the uncontrolled movement that can
cause serio us inj uries . In addition, safety be lts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the
vehicle .
Safety be lts attach passengers to the car and
give them the benefit of being slowed down
more gently or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety
features engineered into today's vehicles. By
"abso rbing" t he kinetic energy over a longer
per iod of t ime, the safety belts make the
forces o n the body more "t olerable" and less
likely to cause inj ury.
Although these examples are based on a fron-
ta l collision, saf ety belts can a lso substantia l-
ly red uce the risk of injury in other kinds of
crashes. So, whether you're on a long t rip or
j ust going to the corner store, a lways buckle
up and make sure others do, too. Accident sta -
tistics show that veh icle occupants properly
wearing safety belts have a lower risk of be ing
injured and a much better chance of surviving
an accident. Properly using safety be lts also
greatly increases the ability of the supplemen -
tal airbags to do the ir job in a collision. For
t his reason, wea ring a safety belt is legally re-
quired in mos t countr ies includi ng mu ch of
t he United States and Can ada .
Althoug h your Audi is equipped with a irbags,
you still have to wear the safety be lts prov id-
ed . Front airbags, fo r example , a re act ivated
only in some front al coll isions. The fron t a ir-
bags are not act ivated in a ll fron t al collis ions,
in side and rear collisions, in roll overs or in
cases where there is not eno ugh deceleration
through impact to the front of the veh icle.
The same goes for the other a irbag systems in
your Audi. So, always wear your safety belt
and make su re everybody in your veh icle is
properly restrai ned !
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