___ S_a_f_e_t-=y_ b_e_l_t _s _______________________________________________ _
- Make sure t hat your passengers also buckle up and prop-
er ly wea r t heir saf ety belts.
Protect your children with a child restraint system appro -
pria te for t he size and age of the children.
The warning light ~ in the instrument cluster lights up when the
ignition is switched on as a reminder to fasten the safety belts. In
addition, you will hear a warning sound.
After the ignition is switched on, the warning tone will come on for
about 6 seconds along w ith a -~ warning light in the instru ment
cluster if the driver has not fastened his safety belt . As soon as the
driver has fastened his safety belt, the warning t one will stop and
the warning light will go out .
If the driver has not buckled -up within about 24 seconds after the
warn ing tone has stopped, the warn ing tone will sound again for
about 6 seconds. The warning tone will sound repeated ly for about
6 seconds at 24 second intervals unti l the driver has buckled-up . The
safety belt warning system is active for about 5 minutes and during
this t ime the wa rning light in the instrument cluster will stay on.
Fasten your safety belt now and make sure that your passengers
also properly put on the ir safety belts. •
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashe s create very strong forces for pe ople ri ding
in vehicles.
Fig. 162 Unbelted
occupants in a vehicle
heading for a wall
Fig. 163 The vehi cle
crashes int o t he wa ll
The physica l principles are simple. Both the vehicle and the passen-
gers possess energy which varies with vehicle speed and body
we ight . Engineers call this energy "kinetic energy ."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the greater the vehicle's
we ight, the mo re energy that has to be "absorbed" in the crash .
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor. If the speed doub les
from 15 to 30 mph (25 to 50 km/h), the energy increases 4 times!
~
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