,&. WARNING (continued)
• Always hold th e steerin g w hee l o n th e out
s ide or the stee ring w heel rim with your h and s
at th e 9 o'clock and 3 o'cloc k p ositions to h elp
redu ce the risk or p erson al injury
• Neve r hold th e s tee rin g w hee l a t th e 12
o 'clo ck p osition or with your hand s at oth er
pos ition s in sid e th e stee ring w hee l rim or on
hub. ste erin g
w hee l th e wron g way c an cause ser ious inju
ri es to th e hand s, arm s and h ead
• P ointin g th e s tee rin g w hee l to war d your d ec reases the ability or the suppl em ental
driver's a irbag to p rotec t yo u in a collision.
• Always s it in an upri gh t p os ition and n ever
l e an a gainst or pla ce any part or y our bod y too
clo se to th e area w here t he a irbags are loc ated.
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
,&. WARNING (continu ed)
• B efor e dri vin g, a lways a djust the front
sea ts and h ead r est ra int s prop erl y a nd m ake
s ur e th at all passe nger s are properly re
s train ed.
• Neve r adju st th e sea ts w hil e th e vehicl e is
m ov ing. Y our seat m ay move unexpec tedly
a n d y ou could lose co ntrol of th e ve hicl e.
• Neve r drive w ith th e ba ckre st r eclin ed or
tilt ed
ba ck! Th e fa rth er the bac kres ts are
tilt ed b ack, th e g reater t he risk du e to
in co rrec t p ositionin g or the sa fe ty belt and im
prop er sea ting pos ition.
• Childr en mu st always ride in child seat s
51. Specl al p reca utio ns ap ply w hen in
s ta llin g a c hild sca t on th e fr ont passe nge r sca t
29, "C hild res trai nts on th e front scat some imp ort ant thin gs to
Proper seating position fo r the front passenger
The p roperf ront passenge r seating position is important for safe, relaxed driving.
For your own saf ety and to reduce th e r is k
of i njury in th e eve nt of an accide nt we rec
o mm end that you adjust the seat fo r th e
front pa ssenge r to th e fo llow ing po sitio n:
- Mo ve the front pas senge r sea t back a s
far as po ssibl e. There mu st be a mi nim um
of IO in ch es (25 c m) betw een the breast
bone and the in str um ent
- Adj ust th e ang le of th e s eatba ck so th at
it is in an upr ight pos it ion a nd your back
comes in full contact with it when ever the
ve hicle i s movin g.
- Adju st th e head restra int so th at the
uppe r edge is as e ven wit h th e top of yo ur
head as possible but not lower t han eye
le ve l and so that it is as close
the back of
yo ur h ead as po ssible
7 .
- Keep both fe et fl at on th e floo r in the
foorw ell in fro nt of the front pas senger
s eat. -
Faste n and wear safety be lts co rrec tly
13.
For d etai led informa tion on how to adju st th e
front passe nger seat 3.1 , chapter
"Sea ts and storage. "
WARNING
Front sea t passe ngers w ho arc unbelt ed, out or
p os ition or t oo close to the a ir b ag c an b e ser i
ou sly inju re d or kill ed by th e a ir ba g as i t un
fo lds. To h elp re du ce the r is k or se rio us p er
so nal inj ury :
• P assenge rs mu st a lways si t in an u pri ght
p os ition and n ever le an aga inst o r p lace any
p art o r th eir b ody too close to th e a rea w here
th e air ba gs arc locat ed .
• Passe ngers who a rc unb elt ed , o u t o r posi
ti on or t oo cl ose to t he a irbag can be se riously
in jur ed by a n airb ag as
it unfold s w ith grea t
for ce in the b link or a n eye .
• Always make s ure th at th ere a rc at leas t 10
in ch es (25 cm) bet wee n t he front p assenge r's
br eas tbone and th e ins trum ent p anel.
Safe driving 5
Booklet 2 .1 Safet y fir st
WARN ING (con tinu ed)
• Eac h pa ssen ger mu st a lwa ys s it on a scat of
t h eir ow n and proper ly fasten and we ar the
be lt b elo nging to t hat seat .
• Before d rivin g, alwa ys adju st th e fron t pa s
s e nger seal a nd hea d re stra int p roperly .
• Alwa ys kee p yo ur f ee l o n
in fro nt
o f th e sc at. Neve r rest them on th e seat , in stru
m en t p anel, o ut o f t he wi ndow, et c. T he air bag
sy ste m and safet y belt w ill n ot be ab le to pro -
WARN ING (c on tinu ed)
tec t y ou p roperly and can eve n in cre a se t he
r is k of in jur y in a cra sh .
• Never drive w ith the backre st re clined o r
tilted far ba ck! The fa rth er t he b ackre sts arc
t il te d ba ck, t he g re at er the r is k of i njur y du e to
in cor rec t pos itio nin g of 1h c safet y bell an d im
prop er seat in g po siti on.
• Child ren m ust al way s ri de in chil d sca ts
5 1. Specia l pre ca uti ons ap p ly wh en in
s ta lli ng a c hild sea t o n th e fro nt p asse nge r se at
29, " Ch ild res tra in ts on t he fron t sca t -
s om e import an t thin gs to know ".
Proper seating position for passengers in rear seats
R ea r seat passe ngers s it u prig ht bot h feet on the floo r con sistent with
ph ysi cal siz e and be pr ope rly rest ra ined whe never t he ve hicle is
7 .. If a passe nge r is sit tin g in
t h e re a r ce nter sea tin g pos iti on , th is co m
pact hea d r estra int is no t h eig ht adju st
a bl e, b ut it mu st alwa ys bee n ra ised when
eve r the cen te r rear seating pos ition is oc
cupied .
- Keep both fee l fla t in th e foo twe ll in
fro nt o f rh e rea r se a t.
- Fas te n an d wea r sa fe ty be lts prop erly
13 .
6 Saf e dr iving
- Ma ke sur e th at chil dre n ar e always
p roper ly res tra ined i n a c hild rest raint th at
is ap propria te for their size an d age
51.
W ARNING
Passe nge rs w ho are im prope rly s ea te d o n th e
re ar s eal can be seriou sly inj ure d in a crash.
• Each pa ssen ge r m ust a lwa ys s it o n a s eal o f
th eir ow n and prop erl y fas te n and wea r t he
be lt b elo nging to th at sea t.
• Safe ty belts onl y
m axim um pro tec
ti on w hen th e sea tback is sec urely la tc h ed i n
th e upri gh t posit ion an d the
belt s are
p rop erl y p ositi oned on th e bo dy. B ynol sittin g
upri gh t, a r ear se al passe nge r incre as es th e
r is k of pers o n al i njur y from i mpro perl y po si
tio ned sa fet y belt s!
• Alw ays adju st t he head res tra in t p ro pe rly
s o th at it can give
pro tec tio n.
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
Active head restraints for the front seats
During a rea r e nd collisio n the passenge rs
in th e vehicle are pressed against th e sea t
back rest. The res ultin g pressu re th at the
body exe rts aga in st th e bac kres t ac tivates
t h e ac tive head rest raint s in the front seats .
Th e front hea d res train ts wi ll mo ve fo r
w ard and upwa rd at the sa me tim e to help
r e duce the risk o f n eck injuri es.
WARNING
Driving without hea d re stra ints or with im
properl y ad justed head r estraint s in creases
th e risk or seriou s injuri es in a collision . To
help reduce th e risk or injury:
• Always drive
th e hea d r estra ints in
place and prop erl y a dju sted. Remember that
th e rear center he ad r estraint is not h eight ad
ju stabl e and that it mu st be rai sed up all th e
w ay w hen eve r the center rear seat is occ upied .
• Every per son in the vehicle must have a
properly adjuste d head restraint.
• Always make su re each perso n in the ve
hicl e prop erl y adju sts th eir head r estraint.
WA RNING (continue d)
Eac h head restraint mu st be adju ste d ac
cord ing to oc cupants ' size so that the upper
edge is as eve n with the top or the person' s
h ead, but no lo wer than eye level and so it is as
clo se to th e back or to the h ead as possibl e.
• Nev er attempt to adjust head res traint
whil e dri vin g. Ir you have driven
and must
adju st the driver h eadr est any reaso n, stop the vehicl e attempting to
adju st the hea d re straint.
• Children mu st always b e properl y re
strained in a c hild restraint that is appropriat e
their age a nd size 5 1, " C hild
Tips
The acti ve head res train ts ca n also ac tivate
w hen p assenger push es up agains t th e ba ck
r es t wi th en ough force exa mpl e yourse lf ju st into th e seat abr uptly) or if th e
h ea d res train t is push ed from behind. This is
n orm al and will not da m age th e head res traint.
I t w ill go back t o its o riginal pos itio n rig h t
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant rest raint system ca n on ly redu ce th e risk of if v eh icle
pa nts ar e prop erly sea ted .
Improp er se atin g po siti ons ca n cause se
r io us injur y or deat h. Safe ty belts ca n on ly
wo rk whe n th ey are prop erl y pos ition ed
o n th e body . Impr oper seati ng posit ions
r e du ce the e ffect ive ne ss of sa fe ty belt s a nd
w ill eve n inc rease the ris k or injury and
d ea th by m ov ing t he sa fety belt to criti cal
a reas of the body. Imp roper seating posi
ti ons a ls o in crease the risk of seriou s injur y
and d eath when a n airb ag de plo ys and
s trikes an occ upant who is not in the
prop er sea ting po sition.
driver is res pon
s ibl e for the sa fe ty of all vehicl e occ upant s
a nd especiall y for childr en. There for e:
8 Safe driving
-Never a llow anyone to ass um e an im
proper seating pos it ion when th e ve hicl e is
bei ng
lists onl y so me or the pos itions
that will increase the risk or ser io us injury and
d ea th. Our h ope is
th ese ex amples will help
mak e you more awa re of sea ting po siti ons that
ar e da ngero us.
Therefore, whenever the vehic le is moving:
• neve r sta nd up in the vehicle
• neve r stand on the seats
• neve r kneel on th e seats
• neve r rid e with the seat back recl ined
• never lie clown on th e re ar sea t
Safety belts
General not es
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety b elt s correctly saves lives!
Fig . 5 Occ upan ts wear ing safety belts
This Bookl et explain s why safet y belt s are
nece ssary, ho w the y work and how to ad
ju st and wear them correc tly.
Number of seats
Yo ur vehicl e has a tota l of five se ating position s: in the fro nt and three in th e rear. Each
sea tin g p ositio n ha s a sa fety b elt.
WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im
properly increases the risk of seriou s per sona l
injury and d eat h.
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
- Read all the information th at follows
and heed all of th e in struction s and warn
in gs in thi s booklet.
WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im
properly increases the risk of seriou s personal
injury and death.
• Safety belts are t he sin gle mo st efTec tive
means available to reduce the risk of se rious
injur y and death in automobile accidents.
your protection and that of your passengers,
a lwa ys corre ctl y wear safety belts when the ve
hicle is moving =;fig. 5.
• Pregnant women, injured, or physically
impaired per sons mu st
use safe ty belts.
l..ik eall vehicle occupant s, they arc more likely
to be seriou sly injur ed if the y do not wear
safety bel ts. The best way to protect
fet us is to
protect the mother -throughout the entire
pregnancy.
WAR NING (con tinued)
• Never strap more than one person, in
cluding small children, into any belt. It is espe
cially dangerous to pla ce a sa fety belt over a
c hild sittin g on yo ur lap.
• Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than ther e arc safe ty belt s available.
• Be sure eve ryone riding in the vehicle is
properly res train ed with a separat e safety belt
or child restraint.
Safety belts 13
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
Safety belt warning light
Your vehicl e ha s a w arning s yste m for the driv er and front seat pa sseng er to r e
mind
about the importan ce of bucklin g-up.
Fig. 6 Safety bel t warn ing lig ht
B efore driving off, always :
Faste n you r safet y be lt and mak e sure
you are w ear ing it prop erl y.
Ma ke s ure th at your p asse nge rs als o
bu ckle up and proper ly w ear their sa fe ty
b elt s.
Prot ect yo ur chi ldr en with a c hild re
s traint sy ste m appropri ate fo r th e s ize and
ag e o f the ch ildren.
The wa rning lig ht in th e in strum ent cluste r
li g ht s up when t he ig nition is s wit ch ed on a s a
r e minder
to fa ste n th e sa fe ty belts. In addition ,
y o u w ill hear a warnin g so und and see th e fol
l ow ing m ess age displa yed: Please fasten s eatbelt!
14 Safety belts
The warnin g light I di spla y and th e warn ing
so un d w ill go o ut/stop w hen th e dri ver an d front
p asse nger co rrec tly faste n s th e s afety be lt.
the ig ni tio n i s sw itch ed on , th e warning
t o ne w ill co me o n fo r a bou t 6sec ond s alo n g wi th
a wa rnin g ligh t
in the in strum ent clu ste r if ei
th er th e dri ver and front sea t pa ssenge r ha s not
fa ste ned th eir saf ety belt. As s oon as th e dri ver
and front seat pa sse nger have fa ste n ed th eir
sa fe ty belts, the warnin g to ne and the wa rning
li g ht
sto p.
If both the dr iver and fron t se at pa sse nger h ave
no t buc kled- up w ithi n abou t
24 sec onds afte r
t h e wa rning to ne ha s s to pp ed, the w arn ing ton e
w ill soun d a gain for ab out 6 second s. Th e
w arnin g to n e w ill sound re peate dl y fo r ab out
6 sec ond s at 24 seco nd int erv als unt il bo th the
dri ver and fr ont p asse nge r have buckl ed-up.
Th e sa fety belt warnin g sys te m is ac tive for
a bo ut
5 minut es and durin g thi s tim e th e
w arn ing lig ht in th e in strum ent clu ste r w ill sta y
o n.
F as te n you r sa fe ty be lt now and make sure that
y our passenge rs als o proper ly p ut on their
safe ty be lts.
19 is le ft at
ta ch ed to th e sa fe ty belt bu ck le, th e s afe ty bel t
w arn ing sys te m will se nse that th e safety belt for
th at sea t is bein g use d and the w arnin g to ne w ill
n ot sound even th ou gh th e sea t is occ upi ed and
t h e safe ty belt is not b ein g use d.
Booklet 2 .1 Safety fir st ®
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the laws of physics
Fronta l crashe s subject people riding in vehicles to very strong force s.
F ig . 7 Unbelted occupants in a veh icle head ing for
o wal l.
The ph ysica l prin ciples ar e simpl e. Both th e hicle and th e pa sse nger s po ssess e nergy w hich
va ries with veh icl e s pee d and bod y weig ht. Engi
n eer s c all thi s en erg y " kin etic energy. "
The hi gher th e s pee d of the vehicl e and th e
gr eater t he v ehicl e's weight, th e more energy h as
to be "a b so rbed " in th e c rash .
V ehicle speed is th e m os t signifi cant factor. I f the
spe ed doubl es from 15 to 30 mph (25 to 50 km /h ),
th e e nerg y in crea ses 4 tim es !
Be ca u se th e pass eng ers of th e vehicle a re not
u sin g s afety belt s
7, th ey w ill kee p movin g th e s am e s pee d th e ve h icl e mo ving ju st
F ig . 8 The vehicle crashes into the wall.
before th e c ras h, un til somet hing stop s them h ere, t he wa ll 8.
T he s ame princip les a pply
people sit ting ve hicle tha t is in vol ve d in a frontal collision.
E ve n at spe ed s o f20 t o 30 mph (30 to 50
km /h ). t he forc es act in g on the bod y reach
on e ton (2,000 lbs. or l,000 kg) or more. Al greater
s pe ed s, these force s are ev en high er.
P eo ple wh o do not u se sa fety belt s arc al so nut
a tta ch ed to th eir ve hicl e. In a fronta l colli sion
t h ey will als o ke ep moving forwa rd a t th e sp ee d
th eir ve hicl e was tra ve lin g ju st befo re the crash.
Of cour se the law s of p hys ics don't ju st a pp ly to
fro ntal colli sion s, the y det ermine what happ en s
in all kind s of accident s
Safety belts 15
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
What happens to occupants not wearing safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupant s cannot stop themselve s from flying forward and
being injured or killed. Always wear your safety belts.
Fig. 9 A driver not wearing o safety belt is violently
thrown forward
Un belted occ upants ar e not abl e to res ist the tre
m endo us fo rces o f imp act by holdin g tig ht or
bra cing themse lves . W ith ou t th e ben efit of
s af etv res traint systems. th e unr estrai ned o ccu
slam vio le ntl y into t he steering wheel,
in strnm ent panel, win dshi eld , o r w hate ve r else
is in the way
9. T his impac t w ith the ve hicle
inte rior has a ll th e e nergy the y had just before
the cras h.
Neve r re ly on airb ags alone for pro tec tion. Eve n
wh en th ey deplo y, air ba gs provide onl y a ddi
t io n al prot ection. Airb ags are not su pposed
depl oy in all kin ds of a cci den ts. Alt hough your
Volk swag en i s eq uipped with airbags, all vehicl e
occ upant s, inclu ding th e dr ive r, mu st wear
sa fety belt s co rrectl y in order to min imize th e
ri sk of seve re injur y or d eath in a cras h, regard-
16 Safety belts
Fig . 10 A rear passenger not wearing o sa fety belt
will fly forward and strike the drive r
less of wheth er a se atin g pos ition has a n or no t
R em emb er too, that ai rbags w ill dep loy o nly
once a nd t hat your sa fery be lts are always there
to offe r pro tec tion in th ose acci dent s in whi ch
a irba gs are not supp osed to dep loy o r w hen they
h ave already deployed. Unbelt ed occ upan ts can
a lso be thro wn out of th e ve hicle w here e ven
more severe or fa ta l in jur ies can occur.
I t i s a lso important for the rear passe ngers to
wea r sa fety belts correct ly. Unb elt ed pas se nge rs
in th e re ar sea ts endanger no t on ly th emse lves
b u t a ls o th e driver an d oth er pa ssenge rs
JO .
In a fron tal collisio n th ey w ill be thrown forward
v io len tly, whe re they ca n hi t a nd injure the
driver and /or front seat
Booklet 2.1 Safety first
it 's po ssibl e to use the to brace the body a ,ninor collision.
It 's simp ly not
Fi g. 11 Driver is co rrectly re strained in o s udden
broki ng ma neuver .
Safely belt s used prop erl y can make a big diff er
ence. Safet y belts help to keep passe ngers in
the ir sea ls , gra dually r edu ce e nergy levels ap
pli ed
to the body in co llision s. and help preve nt
th e unc ontroll ed mo veme nl tha t can cause se
riou s injur ies. In ad di1i on, safe ty belt s redu ce
th e clang er of being thro wn ou1 o f th e ve hicl e.
Safe ty belt s atta ch passengers 10 the car and giv e
th em t he ben efi t of b eing
down more
ge nll yor "sof tly" through lhe "g ive" in the saf ety
b e lts, cru mp le zo ne s
other saf ely fea1 ures
e n gin ee re d into toda y's vehicl es. By "ab sorb ing"
t h e kinet ic ener gy ov er
longe r per iod of lime , th
e fo rces o n 1h e body be come more "tolerable "
and less likely to c ause injur y.
A lthoug h 1hese exa mples are ba sed on a frontal
co llision,
belt s can also sub sla nt ially re
duc e the risk of inju ry in 01h er kin ds of crash es.
So . w heth er yo u're on a long 1rip or ju sl go ing to
lh e c orner stor e, always buckle up and make
s ur e oth ers do, too. Acci denl statist ics sh ow 1h at
ve hicle occ upan 1s prop erl y wea ring sa fe ty
ha ve lower risk of bein g in jur ed and a much
b elie r ch an ce of in collis io n. Properl y
u sin g safe ty bell s also great ly in cre a ses the
abili 1y of 1 he s uppl em ent al a irbags 10 do their
job in a collisio n . Fo r thi s rea son, wea ring a
safe ty belt is lega lly re quir ed in mo sl cou ntries
includin g mu ch of th e Un ited
and
Canada .
A lth ough your Volk swage n i s eq uipped wilh a ir
ba gs. yo u still have to we ar th e safe ly be lts pro
v id ed. Fro nt a irba gs, for examp le,
a cti va ted
on ly in some frontal collisio ns. Th e front airb ags
a re no t acli vated in all fron ta l co lli sio ns, in sid e
and rea r co llisio ns. in rollo vers o r in cas es wh ere
is no t e nou gh de celeration through impac t
to the front of the vehicle. Th e sa me go es for the
01 hcr airbag sys1ems in yo ur Volk sw agen. So, al
w ays
you r saf ety belt and mak e sure ev ery
bo dy in ve hicle is prop erly
Impo rtant safety instructions about safety belts
Safety bel ts must alway s be cor rect ly pos i ri on ed across the strongest bones of you r
body.
- Always wea r saf ety bells as ill ustra ted
and descr ibed in thi s Bookl et.
- Make su re th at yo ur sa fet y be lts a rc a l
ways rea dy fo r u se and arc no t da ma ged.
WARNING
Not wea ring sa fe ty belt s or wearing t hem im
prop erl y inc re as es the ri sk of se rious per sona l
WAR NING (continued)
injury and death. Safety belts ca n w ork onl y
w hen u sed correct ly.
• Always fas te n yo ur safety belt s cor rect ly
before dri vin g o ff and make sure all pa sse n
ge rs are cor rec tly res tra in ed.
•
m ax imum protection, sa fel y belt s
mu st be po sitione d cor rectly on th e
body.
Safety belts 17