Safe driving17
Safety First
Operating Instructions
Practical Tips
Technical Specifications
•Never allow children to play in or around the vehicle. Close and lock all
the doors and tailgate when you leave the vehicle. Before you lock the
vehicle, make sure that there are no adults or children in the vehicle.•Never transport passengers in the luggage compartment. All passen-
gers must have their seat belt fastened ⇒page 18.Note
•Air circulation in the vehicle helps reduce fogging of the windows. Used
air escapes through ventilation slits in the side trim of the luggage compart-
ment. Ensure that the ventilation slits are never covered.•Straps for securing the load to the fastening rings are commercially
available.Fastening rings
There can be four fastening rings in the luggage compart-
ment for fastening luggage and other objects.– Always use suitable and undamaged straps to secure luggage and other objects to the fastening rings ⇒ in “Loading the
luggage compartment” on page 16.
– Pull up the fastening rings to attach the straps.During a collision or an accident, even small and light objects can build up so
much energy that they can cause very severe injuries. The amount of kinetic
energy depends on the speed of the vehicle and the weight of the object. The
most significant factor, however, is the speed of the vehicle. Example: An object weighing 4.5 kg is lying unsecured in the vehicle. During
a frontal collision at a speed of 50 km/h, this object generates a force corre-
sponding to 20 times its weight. That means that the effective weight of the
object increases to about 90 kg. You can imagine the severity of the injuries
which might be sustained if this object strikes an occupant as it flies through
the passenger compartment. This increased risk of injury will be further
increased if a loose object is struck by an inflating airbag.
WARNING
•If pieces of luggage or other objects are secured to the fastening rings
with inappropriate or damaged retaining cords, injuries could be sustained
in the event of braking manoeuvres or accidents.•To prevent pieces of luggage or other objects from flying forward,
always use appropriate retaining cords which are secured to the fastening
rings.•Never secure a child seat on the fastening rings.
WARNING (continued)
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Seat belts19
Safety First
Operating Instructions
Practical Tips
Technical Specifications
Why wear seat belts?Physical principles of frontal collisions
In the event of a frontal collision, a large amount of kinetic
energy must be absorbed.
It is easy to explain how the laws of physics work in the case of a head-on
collision: When a vehicle starts moving ⇒fig. 6 , a certain amount of energy
known as kinetic energy is produced in the vehicle and its occupants.
The amount of kinetic energy depends on the speed of the vehicle and the
weight of the vehicle and its passengers. The higher the speed and the
greater the weight, the more energy there is to be released in an accident.
The most significant factor, however, is the speed of the vehicle. If the speed
doubles from 25 km/h to 50 km/h, for example, the kinetic energy is multi-
plied by four.
Because the passengers in our example are not restrained by seat belts, in
the case of a head-on collision all of their kinetic energy has to be absorbed
at the point of impact ⇒fig. 7.
Even at speeds of 30 km/h to 50 km/h, the forces acting on bodies in a colli-
sion can easily exceed one tonne (1000 kg). At greater speed these forces are
even higher.
Passengers not wearing seat belts are not “attached” to the vehicle. In a
head-on collision, they will move forward at the same speed their vehicle was
Fig. 6 Vehicle about to hit
a wall: the occupants are
not wearing seat belts
Fig. 7 The vehicle hits
the wall: the occupants
are not wearing seat belts
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