Get Safety -> Seat belts Guide for Skoda Fabia 4 Door Seecond Generation (2007-2013)

WARNING

Seat belts

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Fasten your seat belt before each journey - even when driving in town!

This also applies to the people seated at the rear – there is a risk of injury.

Expectant women must also always wear a seat belt. This is the only way

of ensuring optimal protection for the unborn child » page 12, Fastening

and unfastening seat belts.

Wearing seat belts

 Introduction

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The maximum protection which seat belts can offer is only achieved if you

Fig. 3

are correctly seated » page 7, Correct and safe seated position.

Driver wearing seat belt

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The seat backrests of the front seats must not be tilted too far to the rear

otherwise the seatbelts can lose their effectiveness.

WARNING

Information on the correct routing of the belt

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Always ensure that the webbing of the seat belts is properly routed. Seat

belts which are not correctly adjusted can themselves cause injuries even

in minor accidents.

Adjust the height of the belt in such a way that the shoulder part of the

This chapter contains information on the following subjects:

■

The physical principle of a frontal collision

Fastening and unfastening seat belts

Belt height adjustment on the front seats

belt is roughly positioned across the middle of your shoulder - on no ac-

count across your neck.

A seat belt which is hanging too loose can result in injuries as your body is

moved forward by the kinetic energy produced in an accident and is then

suddenly held firm by the belt.

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Seat belts that are fastened correctly offer good protection in the event of an

accident. They reduce the risk of an injury and increase the chance of survival

in the event of a major accident.

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The belt must not run across solid or fragile objects (e.g. spectacles, ball-

point pens, keys, etc.). Such objects can cause injury.

Correctly fastened seat belts hold occupants of the car in the correct seated

position » Fig. 3.

WARNING

Information on dealing with the safety belts

The belt webbing must not be jammed in-between at any point or twis-

ted, or chafe against any sharp edges.

The seat belts reduce the kinetic energy (energy of motion) to a considerable

extent. They also prevent uncontrolled movements which, in turn, may well re-

sult in severe injuries.

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Make sure you do not catch the seat belt in the door when closing it.

The occupants of a vehicle who have fastened and correctly adjusted their

seat belt benefit greatly from the fact that the kinetic energy is absorbed by

the belts as much as possible.

WARNING

Information on the proper use of the safety belts

The structure of the front end of the vehicle and other passive safety meas-

ures, such as the airbag system, also contribute to reducing the kinetic energy

in the best possible way. The energy produced is thus absorbed and there is

less risk of injury.

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Never use a seatbelt to secure two persons (not even children). Nor may

the seat belt be placed over a child who is sitting on the lap of another pas-

senger.



Particular safety aspects must be observed when transporting children in the

vehicle » page 19, Transporting children safely.

Safety

WARNING (Continued)

The physical principle of a frontal collision

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The lock tongue should only be inserted into the lock which is the correct

one for your seat. Wrong use of the safety belt will reduce its capacity to

protect and the risk of injury increases.

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The slot of the belt tongue must not be blocked otherwise the belt

tongue will not lock in place properly.

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Many layers of clothing and loose clothing (e. g. a winter coat over a jack-

et) do not allow you to be correctly seated and impairs proper operation of

the seat belts.

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It is prohibited to use clamps or other objects to adjust seat belts (e. g. for

shortening the belts for smaller persons).

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The seat belts for the rear seats can only fulfil their function reliably

when the seat backrests are correctly locked into position » page 66.

Fig. 4 Driver without a fastened seat belt/rear seat passenger without a

fastened seat belt

WARNING

 Read and observe on page 10 first.

Information on the care and maintenance of the safety belts

The belt webbing must always be kept clean. Soiled belts may impair

proper operation of the inertia reel » page 134, Seat belts.

The seat belts must not be removed or changed in any way. Do not at-

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As soon as the vehicle is moving, so-called kinetic energy (the energy of mo-

tion) is produced both in terms of the car as well as in terms of the occupants.

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The magnitude of this kinetic energy depends essentially on the speed at

which the vehicle is travelling and on the weight of the vehicle including the

occupants. The greater the speed and weight increase, the greater the

amount of energy which has to be absorbed in the event of an accident.

tempt to repair the seat belts yourself.

Check the condition of all the seat belts on a regular basis. If any damage

to the seat belts, seat belt connections, inertia reel or the lock is detected,

the seat belt concerned must be replaced by a specialist garage.

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Damaged seat belts which have been subjected to stress in an accident

The speed of the vehicle is the most important factor. Doubling the speed of

the vehicle from 25 km/h up to 50 km/hour increases the kinetic energy four

times.

and were therefore stretched, must be replaced - this is best done by a

specialist garage. The anchorage points of the belts must also be inspec-

ted. The anchorage points for the belts should also be checked.

The notion that it is possible to support your body with your hands in a minor

accident is incorrect. Even in a collision at only a low speed, the forces acting

on the body are such that it is no longer possible to support your body.

Note

The national legal requirements must be observed when using seat belts.

Even if you only drive at a speed of 30 km/h to 50 km/h, the forces that your

body is exposed to in the event of an accident can exceed a ton (1000 kg).

For example, a person's weight of 80 kg “increases” at 50 km/h to 4.8 tons

(4800 kg).

In the event of a frontal collision, occupants of the car not wearing a seat belt

are thrown forward and strike parts of the interior of the car, such as the

steering wheel, dash panel, windscreen in ways which cannot be control-

led » Fig. 4 - . In certain circumstances you could even be thrown out of the

vehicle, which could cause life threatening or even fatal injuries.



Seat belts

It is also important that rear passengers fasten their seat belts, as they could

otherwise be thrown through the vehicle in an uncontrolled manner in the

event of an accident.

Insert the lock tongue into the belt buckle belonging to the seat » Fig. 5 – 

until it you hear it click into place.

Pull on the belt to check that it has engaged correctly in the lock.

›

A rear seat passenger who has not fastened the seat belt is a danger not only

to himself but also for those seated in the front » Fig. 4 - .

A plastic knob in the belt webbing holds the belt tongue in a position which is

easy to get hold of.

It is important that the belt is properly routed to ensure seat belts offer the

maximum protection.

Fastening and unfastening seat belts

The shoulder part of the seat belt must never run across the neck but must

roughly run over the middle of the shoulder and fit snugly against the chest.

The lap part of the belt must run across the pelvis, must not be lie across the

stomach and must always fit snugly » Fig. 6 - .

Expectant women must also always wear a seat belt. This is the only way of

ensuring optimal protection for the unborn child.

The lap part of the belt must be positioned as low as possible on the pelvis on

expectant mothers to avoid exerting any pressure on the lower abdo-

men » Fig. 6 - .

Fig. 5 Fastening/unfastening the seat belt

Release

Release the seat belt only when the vehicle is stationary.

Press the red button in the belt buckle » Fig. 5 - , the lock tongue pops out.

Manually guide the belt back so that it is easier to fully roll up the webbing,

the seat belt does not twist.

›

CAUTION

When releasing the seatbelt ensure that the tongue of the lock does not dam-

age the door trim or other parts of the interior.

Fig. 6 Routing of belt webbing over the shoulders and the lap belt/Rout-

ing of belt webbing for an expectant mother

 Read and observe on page 10 first.

Fasten

Correctly adjust the front seat and head restraint before fastening the seat

belt » page 68.

›

Use the lock tongue to slowly pull the webbing over your chest and pelvis.

›

Safety

Belt height adjustment on the front seats

Belt tensioners

Safety for the driver and front passenger wearing their seat belts is enhanced

by the belt tensioners fitted to the inertia reels of the front three-point seat

belts.

Fig. 7

Front seat: Seat belt height ad-

juster

The three-point seat belts are automatically tensioned in the event of a frontal

collision of a certain severity. The belt tensioners can also be deployed if the

seat belts are not fastened.

The seat belts are automatically tensioned in the event of a collision of a cer-

tain severity.

Belt tensioners are not activated in the event of minor frontal collisions, side

and rear-end collisions, in the case of a rollover and also not in accidents in

which no major forces are produced from the front.

 Read and observe on page 10 first.

The seat belt height adjuster makes it possible to adjust the routing of the

front seat belts in the area of the shoulder to the body size.

WARNING

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Press the height adjuster and move up or down in the desired direc-

tion » Fig. 7.

Then pull firmly on the belt to ensure that the seat belt height adjuster has

correctly locked in place.

Any work on the belt tensioner system including removal and installation

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of system components because of other repair work, must only be carried

out by a specialist garage.

›

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The protective function of the system is only adequate for a single acci-

dent. If the belt tensioners have been deployed, it is then necessary to re-

place the entire system.

Inertia reel and belt pretensioners

Note

 Introduction

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Smoke is generated when the belt tensioners are deployed. This is not an in-

dication of a fire in the vehicle.

When disposing of the vehicle or parts of the belt tensioner system, it is im-

portant to comply with national legal requirements. ŠKODA service partners

are familiar with these regulations and will be able to provide you with de-

tailed information.

This chapter contains information on the following subjects:

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Inertia reel

Belt tensioners

Inertia reel

Each seat belt is equipped with an inertia reel.

The seat belt can move freely when it is pulled slowly. The seat belt is locked

by the inertia reel when it is pulled suddenly.

The belts also lock under full braking, under acceleration, when driving down-

hill and when cornering.

WARNING

If the seat belt does not lock when it is pulled sharply, have it inspected im-

mediately by a specialist garage.

Seat belts

Safety -> Seat belts for Your Skoda Fabia 4 Door Seecond Generation (2007-2013)

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