100 S a fet y belt s
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in-
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 96 A driver not wearing a safety belt is violently
thrown forward
Fig. 97 A rear passenger not wearing a safety belt will
fly forward a nd strike the driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to res ist the
tremendous fo rces of impact by holding tight
or brac ing thems elves. Without the benefit of
safety restraint systems, the unres t rained oc-
cupa nt will sla m violent ly into the steering
wheel, instrument panel, winds hield, or what -
ever else is in the way
q fig . 96 . This impact
with the vehicle interior has all the energy
they had just before the crash.
Never rely on airbags a lone for protection .
Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
addit ional protection . Airbags are not sup -
posed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Al-
though your Audi is equipped with a irbags, all
vehicle occupants, including the driver, must
wear safety belts correctly in order to min i-
mize the risk of severe inju ry or death in a
crash.
Remember too, that a irbags will deploy on ly
once and that your safety belts are always
there to offe r protection in those accidents in
which airbags are not supposed to dep loy or
when they have already dep loyed . Unbelted
occupa nts can also be thrown out of the ve hi-
cle where even more severe or fatal injuries
can occur .
It is also important for the rear passengers to
wear safety be lts correctly. Unbelted passen-
gers in the rear seats endanger not only them-
se lves but also the driver and othe r passen-
gers¢
fig. 97 . In a frontal coll is ion they will
be th rown forward violently, where they can
hit and injure the d river a nd/or fro nt sea t 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. 9 8 Driver is proper ly restrained in a sudden brak-
ing maneuve r.
Safety be lts used properly can make a big dif-
fere nce. Safe ty belts help to keep passengers
in the ir seats, gradua lly reduce energy leve ls
applied t o the body in an accident, and he lp
prevent the uncontrolled movement that ca n
cause serio us inju ries . In addition, safety be lts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the
vehicle.
Safety be lts attach passenge rs to the car and
give them the benefit of being slowed down
more gently or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety
features engineered into today's vehicles. By
"absorbing" the kinetic energy over a longer
per iod of t i me, the safety be lts make th e
lilJJ,
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