Skoda Fabia: Wearing seat belts

Skoda Fabia Owners Manual

Introduction

Fig. 3 Driver wearing seat belt

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.

Correctly fastened seat belts hold occupants of the car in the correct seated position » Fig. 3.

The seat belts reduce the kinetic energy (energy of motion) to a considerable extent. They also prevent uncontrolled movements which, in turn, may well result in severe injuries.

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.

The structure of the front end of the vehicle and other passive safety measures, 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.

Particular safety aspects must be observed when transporting children in the vehicle » page 19, Transporting children safely.

WARNING

• 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.
• The maximum protection which seat belts can offer is only achieved if you are correctly seated » page 7, Correct and safe seated position.
• 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

• 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 belt is roughly positioned across the middle of your shoulder - on no account 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
• The belt must not run across solid or fragile objects (e.g. spectacles, ballpoint pens, keys, etc.). Such objects can cause injury.

WARNING

Information on dealing with the safety belts

• The belt webbing must not be jammed in-between at any point or twisted, or chafe against any sharp edges.
• Make sure you do not catch the seat belt in the door when closing it.

WARNING

Information on the proper use of the safety belts

• 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 passenger.
• 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.
• The slot of the belt tongue must not be blocked otherwise the belt tongue will not lock in place properly
• Many layers of clothing and loose clothing (e. g. a winter coat over a jacket) do not allow you to be correctly seated and impairs proper operation of the seat belts.
• It is prohibited to use clamps or other objects to adjust seat belts (e. g. for shortening the belts for smaller persons).
• The seat belts for the rear seats can only fulfil their function reliably when the seat backrests are correctly locked into position » page 67.

WARNING

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 135, Seat belts.
• The seat belts must not be removed or changed in any way. Do not attempt 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.
• Damaged seat belts which have been subjected to stress in an accident and were therefore stretched, must be replaced - this is best done by a specialist garage. The anchorage points of the belts must also be inspected.

  The anchorage points for the belts should also be checked.

Note

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

The physical principle of a frontal collision

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

As soon as the vehicle is moving, so-called kinetic energy (the energy of motion) is produced both in terms of the car as well as in terms of the occupants.

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.

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.

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.

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 controlled » Fig. 4 - A. In certain circumstances you could even be thrown out of the vehicle, which could cause life threatening or even fatal injuries.

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.

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 - B.

Fastening and unfastening seat belts

Fig. 5 Fastening/unfastening the seat belt

Fig. 6 Routing of belt webbing over the shoulders and the lap belt/Routing of belt webbing for an expectant mother

Fasten

• Correctly adjust the front seat and head restraint before fastening the seat belt
• Use the lock tongue to slowly pull the webbing over your chest and pelvis.
• Insert the lock tongue into the belt buckle belonging to the seat » Fig. 5 – F until it you hear it click into place.
• Pull on the belt to check that it has engaged correctly in the lock.

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.

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 - C.

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 abdomen » Fig. 6 - D.

Release

Release the seat belt only when the vehicle is stationary.

• Press the red button in the belt buckle » Fig. 5 - B, 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 damage the door trim or other parts of the interior.

Belt height adjustment on the front seats

Fig. 7 Front seat: Seat belt height adjuster

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.

• Press the height adjuster and move up or down in the desired direction » Fig. 7.
• Then pull firmly on the belt to ensure that the seat belt height adjuster has correctly locked in place.