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37 Safety
Occupant safety
2
Warning
G
A seat belt that is worn incorrectly or not at
all, or that is not correctly engaged in the
seat belt buckle, cannot perform its intended
protective function. In certain circumstanc-
es, you could be seriously or even fatally in-
jured. Make sure, that all occupants – in
particular, expectant mothers – wear their
seat belt correctly at all times.You must make sure that the belt:is routed as low as possible across your
pelvic area, for example across your hip
joints and not across your abdomen
Continued
Warning (Continued)
G
fits closelyis not twistedis routed across the middle of your shoul-
deris not routed across your neck or under
your armis pulled tight across the lap by pulling up-
wards on the shoulder beltDo not secure any objects with a seat belt
if it is being used by one of the vehicle’s
occupants.
Warning (Continued)
G
Avoid wearing bulky clothing, for example
a winter coat.Do not route the belt strap over sharp or
fragile objects, especially if these are lo-
cated in or on your clothing, for example
eyeglasses, pens or keys. The belt strap
could otherwise tear in the event of an ac-
cident and you or other vehicle occupants
could be injured as a result.O n l y o n e p e r s o n m a y u s e e a c h s e a t b e l t a t
any one time.
Continued
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47 Safety
Occupant safety
2
Warning (Continued)
G
\4Vehicle occupants should wear their
seat belt correctly at all times and
lean back against the backrest, which
should be positioned as upright as
possible. The head restraints should
support the back of the head at about
eye level.\4Move the passenger’s seat as far to
the rear as possible, especially if a
child is secured in a restraint system
installed on this seat.
Continued
Warning (Continued)
G
\4On vehicles with a passenger’s air-
bag, it is not permitted to secure a
rearward-facing child restraint sys-
tem to the passenger’s seat
(\2page 56). Children in a rearward-
facing child restraint system must be
secured on a suitable rear seat.\4Do not lean forward, for example over
the padded boss of the steering
wheel, especially when the vehicle is
in motion.
Continued
Warning (Continued)
G
\4Only hold the steering wheel by the
outer rim. This allows the airbag to in-
flate fully. If you hold the inside of the
steering wheel, you could be injured if
the airbag were to be triggered.\4Do not put your feet on the dash-
board.\4Do not lean on the doors from inside
the vehicle.\4Make sure that no persons, animals
or objects are present between the
vehicle occupants and the deploy-
ment range of the airbags.
Continued
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51 Safety
Occupant safety
2
Thorax sidebags*Warning
G
For safety reasons, the manufacturer rec-
ommends that you use seat covers that
have been tested for Sprinter vehicles
and that have a seam for thorax /
sidebags. A thorax / sidebag may other-
wise not inflate correctly and could fail to
provide the intended degree of protection
in the event of a collision. You can obtain
these covers from an authorized Sprinter
Dealer, for example.
Warning
G
To reduce the risk of injury to occupants
if a thorax / sidebag is triggered, make
sure that:
\4no persons, animals or objects are
present between the vehicle occu-
pants and the thorax / sidebag de-
ployment range
\4no accessories, for example cup hold-
ers, are secured to the doors
\4only light items of clothing are hung
from the coat hooks in the vehicle
\4there are no heavy or sharp objects in
the pockets of items of clothing
Warning
G
Observe the following to reduce the risk of
serious or fatal injury if the thorax /
sidebag is triggered:
\4Vehicle occupants – in particular, chil-
dren – must never lean their head
against the area of the window in
which the thorax / sidebag inflates.
\4Vehicle occupants must wear their
seat belt correctly at all times and
lean back against the backrest, which
should be positioned as upright as
possible.
\4Always secure children who are less
than 5 ft (1.50 m) tall or under
12 years of age in a suitable child re-
straint system.
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53 Safety
Occupant safety
2
Windowbags*
iYou will find additional information
about airbag deployment on
(\2
page 48).
You will find additional information
about the triggering of emergency
tensioning retractors and belt force
limiters on (
\2
page 44).
Warning
G
To ensure that windowbags can provide
the intended degree of protection when
deployed, make sure that no persons, an-
imals or objects are present between the
vehicle occupants and the deployment
range of the windowbags.
Warning
G
Observe the following to reduce the risk
of serious or fatal injury if the windowbag
is triggered:
\4Vehicle occupants – in particular,
children – must never lean their head
against the area of the window in
which the windowbag inflates.
\4Vehicle occupants must wear their
seat belt correctly at all times.
\4Always secure children who are less
than 5 ft (1.50 m) tall or under
12 years of age in a suitable child re-
straint system.
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55 Safety
Occupant safety
2
If a child is traveling in the vehicle:\4
secure the child in a child restraint
system appropriate to his/her age
and size, preferably on a suitable
seat in the rear
\4
ensure that the child is strapped in
throughout the trip
You can obtain child seats and informa-
tion about the correct child restraint sys-
tem from any authorized Sprinter
Dealer.Children in the vehicle
Warning
G
Do not leave children unsupervised in the
vehicle even if they are secured in a child
restraint system. The children could:\4injure themselves on parts of the
vehicle\4be seriously or even fatally injured by
prolonged exposure to extreme heat
or cold
Do not expose child restraint systems to
direct sunlight. Metallic parts of the child
restraint system could heat up, for exam-
ple, and the child could burn him / herself
on the hot parts.
Warning
G
If the children open a door, they could:\4cause injury to others as a result\4get out of the vehicle and could either
injure themselves when doing so or
they could be injured by passing vehi-
cles\4sustain serious injuries if they were to
fall out of the vehicle, due in particular
to the height of the passenger com-
partment from the ground
Continued
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Page 58 of 666
56 SafetyOccupant safety
2
Child restraint systemsWe recommend all infants and children
be properly restrained at all times while
the vehicle is in motion.
All lap-shoulder belts except the driver’s
seat belt have special seat belt retrac-
tors for secure fastening of child re-
straints.To fasten a child restraint, follow child
restraint instructions for mounting. Then
pull the shoulder belt out completely
and let it retract. During seat belt retrac-
tion, a ratcheting sound can be heard to
indicate that the special seat belt retrac-
tor is activated. The belt is now locked.
Push down on child restraint to take up
any slack.
Warning (Continued)
G
Do not carry heavy or hard objects inside
the vehicle or load compartment unless
they are secured. You will find further in-
formation under “Transporting”
(\2page 276) and “Features”
(\2page 287) in the “Controls in detail”
section.An unsecured or incorrectly positioned load
increases the risk of injury to occupants, par-
ticularly children, in the event of:\4sharp braking
\4a sudden change of direction
\4an accident
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57 Safety
Occupant safety
2
To deactivate, release seat belt buckle
and let seat belt retract completely. The
seat belt can again be used in the usual
manner.Warning
G
Never release the seat belt buckle while
the vehicle is in motion, since the special
seat belt retractor will be deactivated.
Warning
G
T o r e d u c e t h e r i s k o f s e r i o u s o r f a t a l i n j u r y
to a child in the event of an accident,
sharp braking or a sudden change in di-
rection:\4Always secure children less than 5 ft
(1.50 m) tall or under 12 years of age
in a special child restraint system in-
stalled on a suitable vehicle seat,
since the seat belts are not designed
for this body size.
Continued
Warning (Continued)
G
It is not permitted to secure a child in the
passenger’s seat or the center position of
the front bench seat if the vehicle is
equipped with a passenger’s airbag.Only secure a rearward-facing child re-
straint system on a suitable rear seat.
Continued
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59 Safety
Occupant safety
2
Warning
G
If you no longer require the child restraint
system, remove it from the vehicle or se-
cure it with the seat belt.
The restraint system could otherwise be
thrown through the vehicle interior in the
event of an accident.
Warning
G
A child secured in a child restraint system
could be seriously or fatally injured in the
event of an accident, braking or a sudden
change in direction if the child restraint
system or its securing system is already
damaged or has been subjected to a load
in an accident.
Continued
Warning (Continued)
G
Have restraint systems and their securing
systems which have been damaged or
subjected to a load in an accident
checked and, if necessary, replaced im-
mediately at a qualified specialist work-
shop which has the necessary specialist
knowledge and tools for the work re-
quired.The manufacturer recommends that you
use an authorized Sprinter Dealer for this
purpose. All work relevant to safety or on
safety-related systems must be carried
out at a qualified specialist workshop.
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