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, crumple zones, and other safety features (such as air-
bags) engineered into today's vehicles. The front crumple zones and
other passive safety features (such as the airbag system) are also
designed to absorb kinetic energy. By “absorbing” the kinetic energy
over a longer period of time, the forces on the body become 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 crash-
es. So, whether you're on a long trip or “just going to the corner
store,” always buckle up and make sure that others do, too.
Accident statistics show that vehicle occupants properly wearing safe-
ty belts have a lower risk of being injured and a much better chance
of surviving a collision. Properly using safety belts also greatly in-
creases the ability of the supplemental airbags to do their job in a
collision. For this reason, wearing a safety belt is required by law in
most countries including the United States and Canada.
Although your Volkswagen is equipped with airbags, you still have to
wear the safety belts provided. Front airbags, for example, are acti-
vated only in some frontal collisions. The front airbags are not acti-
vated in all frontal collisions, in side and rear collisions, in rollovers, or
in cases when the conditions for deployment stored in the electronic
control unit are not met. The same goes for the other airbag systems
on your Volkswagen.
So always wear your safety belt and make sure that everybody in
your vehicle is properly restrained!
Using safety belts
¤ Please first read and note the introductory information and
heed the WARNINGS
Checklist
Using safety belts ⇒ꢀ
d Damage to safety belts reduces their overall effectiveness and in-
creases the risk of serious personal injury and death whenever the
vehicle is being used.
English 