lL
t:0
....
""
......
""
....
0
0
:c
'<I'
instr ument pane l, windshield , or whatever e lse is
in the way ¢ fig. 222. This impact with the vehi-
cle interior has all the energy they had just be-
fore the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone fo r protection . Even
when they deploy, airbags provide on ly additiona l
protection. Airbags are not supposed to dep loy in
all kinds of accidents. Although your Audi is
equ ipped with airbags, all vehicle occupants, in-
cluding the dr iver, must wear safety belts cor -
rectly in order to minimize the risk of severe in-
jury or death in a crash .
Remember too, tha t airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety belts are always there
to offer protec ti on in those acc idents in which
airbags are not supposed to deploy or when they
have a lready deployed. Unbel t ed occupants can
also be thrown out of the vehi cle where even
more severe or fatal injur ies can occur .
It is also impo rtant for the rear passenge rs to
wear safety bel t s corre ctly . Unbel t ed passengers
in the rear seats endanger not only t hemse lves
but also t he driver and ot her passengers
¢ fig . 223. In a fronta l collision they will be
thrown forward violently, where they can hit and
injure the driver and/or front seat passenger .
Safety belts protect
People think it 's possible to use the hands to
brac e the body in a minor collision . It 's simply
not true!
Fig. 224 Driver is correctly rest rained in a sudden braking
maneuver
Safety belts used properly can make a big differ-
ence. Safety belts he lp to keep passengers in
their seats, gradually reduce energy leve ls ap-
Safet y bel t s
plied to the body in an accident, and help prevent
t he uncontrolled movement that can cause seri-
ous injuries. In addition, safety belts reduce the
danger of be ing th rown out of the vehicle.
Safety be lts attach passengers to the car and g ive
them the benefit of be ing slowed down more
gently or "soft ly" th rough the "give" in the safety
belts, crush zones and other safety features engi-
neered into today's vehicles. By "absorbing" the
kinetic ene rgy over a longer period of t ime, the
sa fety belts make the fo rces on t he body more
"tolerab le" and less likely to ca use injur y.
Although these examples are based on a frontal
collision, safety be lts can also substa ntia lly re-
duce the ris k of injury in ot her kinds of crashes .
So, whethe r you're on a long tr ip or just go ing to
t he cor ner store , a lways buckle up and make sure
othe rs do, too. Acciden t st atis tic s show tha t vehi-
cle occupan t s properly wea ring safety belt s have
a lower risk of be ing injured and a muc h better
chance of surviving an accident . Properly using
sa fety belts also great ly increases the ability of
the supp lemental airbags to do their job in a col-
lision. For this reason, wearing a safety belt is le-
gally required in most count ries includ ing much
of the United States and Canada .
Although your Audi is equipped with airb a gs, you
still have to wear the safety belts provided. Front
airbags, for example, are activated only in some
frontal collisions. The front airbags a re not acti-
vated in a ll frontal collisions , in side and rear col-
lisio ns, in roll overs or in cases where the re is not
eno ugh deceleration t hroug h impact to t he front
of the veh icle. The same goes for t he other airbag
systems in your Audi. So, always wear your safety
belt and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly rest rained !
Important safety instructions about safety
belts
Safe ty 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 sure that your safety be lts are always
ready for use and are not damaged.
221
To Next Page
Loading...
