Occupant safety
40 Occupant safety
Notes on occupant safety
Seat belts, together with belt tensioners ,belt
forc elimiters and airbags, are coordinated
restraint systems .They reduce the risk of
injury in defined acciden tsituation sand
thereby increase occupant safety. However,
seat belts and airbags generally do not pro-
tec tagainst objects penetratin gthe vehicle
from the outside.
To ensure that the restraint systems can
deliver their full potential protection ,you
should ensure that:
R the seat and head restraint are adjusted
properly (Y page 74)
R the seat belt has been fastened properly
(Y page 83)
R the airbags can inflat eproperly if they are
deployed (Y page 43)
R the steering wheel is adjusted properly
(Y page 78)
R the restraint systems have not been modi-
fied
i An airbag increases the protection of
vehicle occupants wearing aseat belt. However, airbags are only an additional
restraint system which complements, but
does not replace, the seat belt. All vehicle
occupants must wear their seat belt cor-
rectly at all times, even if the vehicle is
equipped with airbags. This is because
-on
the one hand -airbags are not deployed in
all types of accident, as in some situations
airbag deployment would not increase the
protection afforded to vehicle occupants,
provided they are wearing their seat belt
correctly. On the other hand, airbag deploy-
ment only provides increased protection if
the seat belt is worn correctly because:
R the seat belt helps to keep the vehicle
occupant in the best position in relation
to the airbag
R for example, in ahead-on collision, the
seat belt can more adequately prevent
the occupant from being propelled
towards the forc eofthe impact ,and is
thus better suited to preven tinjury
Therefore, in acciden tsituation swhere an
airbag is deployed, it only provides protec-
tion in addition to the seat belt if the seat
belt is being worn correctly. G
Risk of accident and injury
Always have maintenanc ework carried out
at aq ualified specialist workshop which
has the necessary specialist knowledge
and tools to carry out the work required.
Mercedes-Benz recommends that you use
aM ercedes-Benz Service Centr efor this
purpose.
In particular, work relevant to safety or on
safety-related systems must be carried out
at aq ualified specialist workshop. If this
work is not carried out correctly, the oper-
ating safety of your vehicle may be affec-
ted. There is arisk of an acciden tand injury. G
Risk of injury
The restraint system may not work as inten-
ded if the following component shave been
modified or work on these component shas
not been performed correctly:
R restraint system, consistin gofthe seat
belts and anchorages, belt tensioners,
belt forc elimiters ,airbags
R wiring
R networked electronic systems
Airbags or belt tensioners could then fail,
e.g. in the event of an acciden tinwhich the Safety
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