SMART Fortwo coupe Operator's Manual page 34

Occupant safety
32
collision. If you slide under it, the belt
would apply force at the abdomen or neck,
causing serious or even fatal injuries. The
seat backrest and seat belt provide the best
restraint when the wearer is in a position
that is as upright as possible and the belt
is properly positioned on the body.
G WARNING
Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are seat belts available. Make
sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
correctly restrained with a separate seat
belt. Never use a seat belt for more than one
person at a time.
G WARNING
Seat belts of a vehicle involved in an
accident must be inspected by smart. Only
then is it possible to determine whether
the seat belts were damaged or stressed in
the accident. Damaged or stressed seat
belts may not properly protect you in a
subsequent accident.
Only use seat belts which have been
approved by smart.
Do not make any modifications to the seat
belts. This can lead to unintended
activation of the Emergency Tensioning
Devices (ETDs) or to their failure to
activate when necessary.
Do not bleach or dye seat belts as this may
severely weaken them. In a crash, they may
not be able to provide adequate protection.
Have all work carried out only by qualified
technicians. Contact an authorized smart
center.
G
WARNING
USE SEAT BELTS PROPERLY
Seat belts can only work when used
R
properly. Never wear seat belts in any
other way than as described in this
section, as that could result in serious
injuries in case of an accident.
Each occupant should wear their seat belt
R
at all times, because seat belts help
reduce the likelihood of and potential
severity of injuries in accidents,
including rollovers. The integrated
restraint system includes SRS (driver
front air bag, passenger front air bag,
head-thorax air bags) and Emergency
Tensioning Devices (ETDs) with seat belt
force limiters.
The system is designed to enhance the
protection provided by secured seat
belts in certain frontal and side
impacts.
Never wear the shoulder belt under your
R
arm, against your neck or off your
shoulder. Doing so may cause your body to
move too far forward in a frontal crash,
which would increase the chance of head
and neck injuries. The seat belt would
also apply too much force to the ribs or
abdomen, which could severely injure
internal organs such as your liver or
spleen.
Never wear seat belts over rigid or
R
breakable objects in or on your clothing,
such as eyeglasses, pens, keys, etc., as
these might cause injuries.
Position the lap belt as low as possible
R
on your hips and not across the abdomen.
If the lap seat belt is positioned across
your abdomen, it could cause serious
injuries in a crash.
Never use a seat belt for more than one
R
person at a time. Do not fasten a seat belt
around a person and another person or
other objects at the same time.
Seat belts should not be worn twisted. In
R
a crash, you would not have the full width
of the seat belt to manage impact forces.
The twisted seat belt against your body
could cause injuries.
Pregnant women should also always use a
R
lap-shoulder belt. The lap belt portion