veh icle occupants, including the drive r, must
wear safety belts correctly in order to mini-
mize the 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 already deployed . Unbelted
occupants can also be thrown out of the vehi-
cle whe re even more severe or fatal inj uries
can occur .
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. 87 Driver is properly rest rained in a sudden brak-
ing maneuver.
Safety belts used properly can make a big dif-
fe rence . Safety be lts help to keep passengers
in their se ats , gradually reduce energy levels
appl ied to t he body in an accident, and help
prevent the uncontro lled movement tha t can
cause serious injur ies . In addit ion, safety belts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the
vehicle .
Safety belts attach passengers t o the car and
give them the benefi t of being slowed down
more gently or "soft ly" t hrough the "give" in
the safety belts , crush zones and other safety
features eng ineered into today's vehicles . By
"absorb ing" the kinetic energy over a longer
period of time, the safety belts make the
forces on the body more "to lerable " and less
likely to cause injury.
Safety belts 95
Although these examples are based on a fron-
ta l collision, safety belts can a lso su bsta ntia l-
ly red uce the risk of inju ry in other kinds of
crashes. So, whether you're on a long trip or
just going to the corner store, always buckle
up and make sure others do, too . Accident sta -
tistics s how that vehicle occupants proper ly
wearing safety belts have a lowe r risk of be ing
injured and a much bet t er chance of su rviving
an a ccident. Prope rly us ing safety belts also
greatly increases the ability of the supplemen-
ta l airbags to do their job in a collision. For
this reason, wear ing a safety belt is legally re-
quired in most countries including much of
the United States and Canada.
Although your Audi is equipped with airbags,
you still have to wear the safety be lts provid-
ed . Front airbags, for example, are activated
only in some frontal collisions . The front a ir-
bags are not act ivated in all frontal coll isions ,
in side and rear collisions, in roll ove rs or in
cases where there is not enough deceleration
th rough impact to the front of the veh icle.
The same goes for t he othe r airbag systems in
your Audi. So, always wear your safety belt
and make su re everybody in your veh icle is
proper ly restrained!
Important safety instructions about
safety belts
Safety belts must always be properly posi-
tioned across the strongest bones of your
body.
.,. Always wear safety belts as illustrated and
descr ibed in th is chapter.
.,. Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged.
A WARNING
Not wear ing safety belts or wear ing t hem
improperly increases the risk of se rious
personal injury and dea t h. Safety be lts can
work on ly when used cor rectly.
- Always fast en your saf ety belts correct ly
befo re driving
off and make sure all pas-
senge rs are proper ly restr ained. .,.
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