or the safety belts!
With safety belts, you slow down as the vehicle
does. You get more time to stop. You stop
over more distance, and your strongest bones
take the forces. That is why safety belts
make such good sense.
Questions and Answers About
Safety Belts
Q:Will I be trapped in the vehicle after an
accident if I am wearing a safety belt?
A:Youcouldbe — whether you are wearing a
safety belt or not. But you can unbuckle a
safety belt, even if you are upside down.
And your chance of being conscious during
and after an accident, so youcanunbuckle
and get out, ismuchgreater if you are belted.
Q:If my vehicle has airbags, why should
I have to wear safety belts?
A:Airbags are supplemental systems only; so
they workwithsafety belts — not instead
of them. Every airbag system ever offered for
sale has required the use of safety belts.
Even if you are in a vehicle that has airbags,
you still have to buckle up to get the most
protection. That is true not only in frontal
collisions, but especially in side and other
collisions.
25
Right Front Passenger Position
To learn how to wear the right front passenger’s
safety belt properly, seeDriver Position on
page 26.
The right front passenger’s safety belt works the
same way as the driver’s safety belt — except
for one thing. If you ever pull the shoulder portion
of the belt out all the way, you will engage the
child restraint locking feature which may turn off
the passenger’s frontal airbag. If this happens, just
let the belt go back all the way and start again.
Center Front Passenger Position
Lap Belt
If your vehicle has a front bench seat, someone
can sit in the center position.
When you sit in the center front seating position,
you have a lap safety belt, which has no retractor.
To make the belt longer, tilt the latch plate and
pull it along the belt.
36