Audi A6 Typ 4G: What happens to occupants not wearing safety belts?

In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop themselves from flying forward and being injured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!

Fig. 145 A driver not wearing a safety belt is violently thrown forward

Fig. 146 A rear passenger not wearing a safety belt will fly forward and strike the driver

Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the tremendous forces of impact by holding tight or bracing themselves. Without the benefit of safety restraint systems, the unrestrained occupant will slam violently into the steering wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or whatever else is in the way fig. 145. This impact with the vehicle interior has all the energy they had just before the crash.

Never rely on airbags alone for protection. Even when they deploy, airbags provide only additional protection. Airbags are not supposed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Although your Audi is equipped with airbags, all vehicle occupants, including the driver, must wear safety belts correctly in order to minimize the risk of severe injury or death in a crash.

Remember too, that airbags will deploy only 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 vehicle where even more severe or fatal injuries can occur.

It is also important for the rear passengers to wear safety belts correctly. Unbelted passengers in the rear seats endanger not only themselves but also the driver and other passengers fig. 146. In a frontal 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 brace the body in a minor collision. It's simply not true!

Fig. 147 Driver is correctly restrained in a sudden braking maneuver

Safety belts used properly can make a big difference.

Safety belts help to keep passengers in their seats, gradually reduce energy levels applied to the body in an accident, and help prevent the uncontrolled movement that can cause serious injuries. In addition, safety belts reduce the danger of being thrown out of the vehicle.

Safety belts attach passengers 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 period of time, the safety belts make the forces on the body more "tolerable" and less likely to cause injury.

Although these examples are based on a frontal collision, safety belts can also substantially reduce the risk of injury 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 statistics show that vehicle occupants properly wearing safety belts have a lower risk of being injured and a much better chance of surviving an accident. Properly using safety belts also greatly increases the ability of the supplemental airbags to do their job in a collision.

For this reason, wearing a safety belt is legally required in most countries including much of the United States and Canada.

Although your Audi is equipped with airbags, you s till have to wear the safety belts provided. Front airbags, for example, are activated only in some frontal collisions. The front airbags are not activated in all frontal collisions, in side and rear collisions, in rollovers or in cases where there is not enough deceleration through impact to the front of the vehicle. The same goes for the other airbag systems in your Audi. So, always wear your safety belt and make sure everybody in your vehicle is properly restrained!

Important safety instructions about safety belts

Safety belts must always be correctly positioned across the strongest bones of your body.

• Always wear safety belts as illustrated and described in this chapter.
• Make sure that your safety belts are always ready for use and are not damaged.

WARNING

Not wearing safety belts or wearing them improperly increases the risk of serious personal injury and death. Safety belts can work only when used correctly.

• Always fasten your safety belts correctly before driving off and make sure all passengers are correctly restrained.
• For maximum protection, safety belts must always be positioned properly on the body.
• Never strap more than one person, including small children, into any belt.
• Never place a safety belt over a child sitting on your lap.
• Always keep feet in the footwell in front of the seat while the vehicle is being driven.
• Never let any person ride with their feet on the instrument panel or sticking out the window or on the seat.
• Never remove a safety belt while the vehicle is moving. Doing so will increase your risk of being injured or killed.
• Never wear belts twisted.
• Never wear belts over rigid or breakable objects in or on your clothing, such as eye glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these may cause injury.
• Never allow safety belts to become damaged by being caught in door or seat hardware.
• Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt under your arm or otherwise out of position.
• Several layers of heavy clothing may interfere with correct positioning of belts and reduce the overall effectiveness of the system.
• Always keep belt buckles free of anything that may prevent the buckle from latching securely.
• Never use comfort clips or devices that create slack in the shoulder belt. However, special clips may be required for the proper use of some child restraint systems.
• Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and damaged belt hardware can break in an accident.

  Inspect belts regularly. If webbing, bindings, buckles, or retractors are damaged, have belts replaced by an authorized Audi dealer or qualified workshop.

• Safety belts that have been worn and loaded in an accident must be replaced with the correct replacement safety belt by an authorized Audi dealer. Replacement may be necessary even if damage cannot be clearly seen. Anchorages that were loaded must also be inspected.
• Never remove, modify, disassemble, or try to repair the safety belts yourself.
• Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts may not work properly and can impair the function of the inertia reel.

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