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Safet
y
belts
Never rely on airbags a lone for protection
.
Even
when they deploy, airbags provide only additional
protection
.
Airbags are not supposed to deploy in
all kinds of accidents. Although your Audi is
equipped w ith airbags, all vehicle occupants, in-
cluding the driver, must wear safety belts
cor-
rectly in orde
r
to min imize the risk of seve re in-
jury
or
death in a crash
.
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only once
and that your safety be lts are a lways there to
of-
fer protection in t hose accidents in which airbags
are not supposed to deploy or when they have a l-
ready deployed
.
Unbelted occupan
t
s can also be
thrown ou
t
of
t
he vehicle where even mo re severe
or fata
l
injur ies can occur
.
It is also important fo
r
the rea
r
passenge rs to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbe lted passenge rs
in t
he rear se ats endanger not only themselves
but also the driver and other passengers
~
fig.
140.
In a frontal coll ision they
will
be
thrown forward violent ly, where they can hit and
inju
re the driver and/or front seat passenger.
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.
141
Driver is correct ly rest rained
in
a sudden braking
m
aneuver
Safety belts used properly can make a big differ-
ence. Safety belts help to keep passengers in
their seats
,
gradually reduce energy levels ap-
plied to the body in an accident, and he lp prevent
the uncont rolled movement that can cause seri
-
ous injur ies. In add it ion, safety belts reduce the
danger of being
t
hrow
n
ou
t
of
t
he vehicle.
126
Safety be lts attach passengers to the car and give
them the benefit of being slowed down more
gently or "softly" through t he "give" in the safety
belts, crush zones and other safety features eng i-
neered into today's veh icles. By "absorbing" the
kinet ic ene rgy over a longer period of time, the
safety be lts make the forces on the body more
"tole rable" and less likely to cause
injury.
Although these examples are based o
n
a frontal
collision, safety be lts can also substantially
re-
duce the risk
of
injury
in
other kinds
of
crashes.
So, whether you're on a long tr ip or just go ing to
t
he cor ne
r
store, always bu ckle up and ma ke sure
others do, too. Acciden
t
sta
t isti
cs show
th
at vehi-
cle occupants properly wearing safety belts have
a lowe
r
risk of be ing injured and a much better
chance of surviving an accident. Pro perly using
safety belts a lso greatly increases the ab ility of
the supp lemental airbags to do their job in a col-
lis ion. For this reason, wear ing a safety be lt is le-
gally required in most countries including much
of the United States and Canada
.
Although your Audi is equipped with a irbags, you
still have to wear the safety belts provided. Front
airbags, for example, are act ivated only in some
fron tal coll is io ns
.
The front airbags are not act i-
vated in a ll frontal col lisions, in s ide and rear col-
lis io ns, in ro ll overs o
r
in cases whe re the re is not
eno ugh deceler
at
ion th rough imp
act
to the front
of
t
he vehicle
.
The same goes for the other airbag
systems in your Audi. So, always wear your safety
belt and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
proper ly restrained!
Important safety instructions about safety
belts
Safety belts must always be correctly positioned
across the strongest bones of your
body.
.,.
Always wear safety belts as illustrated and de-
scribed in this chapter
.
.,.
Make s ure that your safety belts are always
ready fo
r
use and are not damaged
.
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