Audi A4 2013 Owner's Manual page 141

with the vehicle interior has all the ene rgy
they had just before the crash.
Never rely on airbags a lone for protection.
Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
additional protection . Airbags are not sup-
posed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Al-
though your Audi is equipped with a irbags, all
veh icle occupants, including the driver , must
wear safety belts correctly in order to mini-
mize t he risk of severe injury or death in a
crash .
Remember too, that 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 ca n also be thrown out of the vehi-
cle whe re even more severe or fat al inj uries
can occur .
It is also impo rtant fo r the rear passenge rs to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbe lted passen-
ge rs in the rea r seats endanger no t on ly t hem-
se lves but a lso the driver a nd ot her passen-
gers
¢
fig. 146 . In a frontal collision they will
be thrown forward violent ly, where they can
hit 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. 14 7 Driver is correctly restra ined in a sudden bral<·
ing maneuve r
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
Safety belts 139
applied to t he body in an accident, and he lp
prevent the uncontrolled movement that can
ca use serio us injuries . 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 t hem the benefit of being slowed down
more gently or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety
features enginee red into today's vehicles. By
"absorbing" t he kinetic energy over a longer
per iod of t ime, the safety be lt s make the
fo rces on the body more "tolerable" and less
likely to ca use injury.
Althoug h these examples a re based o n a fron-
ta l collision, safety belts can a lso substantia l-
ly reduce t he risk of injur y in other kinds of
crashes. So, whethe r you're on a long trip or
just going t o the corner store, a lways buckle
up and make sure others do, too . Accident sta -
tistics show that vehicle 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 belts also
greatly increases the ability of the supplemen -
ta l airbags to do the ir job in a collision . For
th is reason, wearing a safety belt is legally re-
quired in mos t countries including much of
t he United States and Canada.
Althoug h your Audi is equipped wit h a irbags,
you st ill have to wear the safety belts provid-
ed . Front airbags, fo r example, a re activa t ed
o nly in some frontal collisions. The front a ir-
bags are not act ivated in a ll frontal coll isions,
in s ide and rear collisions, in roll ove rs or in
cases where t here 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!