2019 AUDI Q7 child seat

Drivingsafety


—Beforedriving,alwaysadjustthefront seats
andheadrestraintsproperlyandmakesure
thatallpassengersareproperlyrestrained.
—Neveradjusttheseatswhilethevehicleis
moving.Yourseatmaymoveunexpectedly
and youcouldlosecontrolofthevehicle.
—Neverdrivewiththebackrestreclinedortilt-
edfarback!Thefartherthebackrestsare
tiltedback,thegreatertheriskofinjurydue
toincorrectpositioningofthesafetybelt
andimproperseatingposition.
—Childrenmustalwaysrideinchildsafety
seats>page290.Specialprecautionsapply
wheninstallinga childsafetyseatonthe
frontpassengerseat>page268.


Properseatingpositionforthefri
passenger
Theproperfrontpassengerseatingpositionis
importantforsafe,relaxeddriving.
Foryourownsafetyandtoreducetheriskofin-
juryinthe eventofanaccident,werecommend
thatyouadjusttheseatforthefrontpassenger
tothefollowingposition:
>Adjusttheangleoftheseatbacksothatitisin
anuprightpositionandyourbackcomesinfull
contactwithitwheneverthevehicleismoving.
>Adjusttheheadrestraintsotheupperedgeis
asevenaspossiblewiththe topofyourhead.If
thatisnotpossible,trytoadjusttheheadre-
straintsothatitisasclosetothispositionas
possible>page57.
>Keepbothfeetflatonthefloorinfront ofthe
frontpassengerseat.
>Fastenandwearsafetybeltscorrect-
ly>page263.
Fordetailedinformationonhowtoadjustthe
frontpassenger'sseat,see>page53.

ZAWARNING
Frontseatpassengerswhoareunbelted,out
ofpositionortooclosetotheairbagcanbe
seriouslyinjuredorkilledbytheairbagasit
unfolds.Tohelpreducetheriskof seriousper-


sonalinjury:

256
—Passengersmustalwayssitinanuprightpo-
sitionandneverleanagainstor placeany
partoftheirbodytooclosetothearea
wheretheairbagsarelocated.
—Passengerswhoareunbelted,outofposi-
tion ortooclosetotheairbagcanbeseri-
ouslyinjuredbyanairbagasitunfoldswith
greatforceintheblinkofaneye.
—Alwaysmakesurethatthereareatleast
10inches(25cm)betweenthefrontpas-
senger‘sbreastboneandtheinstrument
panel.
—Eachpassengermustalwayssitonaseat of
theirownandproperlyfastenandwearthe
safetybeltbelongingtothatseat.
—Beforedriving,alwaysadjustthefrontpas-
sengerseatandheadrestraintproperly.
—Alwayskeepyourfeetonthefloorinfrontof
theseat.Neverrestthemontheseat,in-
strumentpanel,outofthewindow,etc.The
airbagsystemandsafetybeltwillnot be
abletoprotectyouproperlyandcanevenin-
creasetheriskofinjuryinacrash.
—Neverdrivewiththebackrestreclinedortilt-
edfarback!Thefartherthebackrestsare
tiltedback,thegreatertheriskofinjurydue
toincorrectpositioningofthesafetybelt
andimproperseatingposition.
—Childrenmustalwaysrideinchildsafety
seats>page290.Specialprecautionsapply
wheninstallinga childsafetyseatonthe
frontpassengerseat>page268.
Properseatingpositionsforpassengersin
rearseats
Rearseatpassengersmustsituprightwithboth
feetonthefloorconsistentwiththeirphysical
sizeandbeproperlyrestrainedwhenevertheve-
hicleisinuse.

Toreducetheriskofinjurycausedbyanincorrect
seatingpositionintheeventofasuddenbraking
maneuveroranaccident,yourpassengersonthe
rearbenchseatmustalways observethefollow-
ing:
>Iftherearepassengersontheouterrearseats,
adjusttheheadrestraintssotheupperedgeis>

4M0012721BG
Drivingsafety

asevenaspossiblewiththe topofyourhead.If
thatisnotpossible,trytoadjusttheheadre-
straintso thatit isasclosetothispositionas
possible.Ifthereisapassengerinthecenter
rearseat,slidetheheadrestraintupward
=>page57.
>Makesurethattheseatbackissecurelylatched
intheuprightposition>page64.
>Keepbothfeetflatinthefootwellinfrontof
therearseat.
>Fastenandwearsafetybeltsproperly
=>page263.
>Makesurethatchildrenarealwaysproperlyre-
strainedinachildrestraintthatisappropriate
fortheirsizeandage>page290.
Properadjustmentofheadrestraints
Correctlyadjustedheadrestraintsareanimpor-
tantpartofyourvehicle'soccupantrestraintsys-
tem andcanhelptoreducetheriskofinjuriesin
accidentsituations.

B4G-0454



ZAWARNING
Passengerswhoareimproperly seatedonthe
rearseatcanbeseriouslyinjuredinacrash.
—Eachpassengermustalwayssitonaseatof
theirownandproperlyfastenandwearthe
safetybeltbelongingtothatseat.
—Safetybeltsonlyoffermaximumprotection
whentheseatbackissecurelylatchedinthe
uprightpositionandthesafetybeltsare
properlypositionedonthebody.Bynotsit-
tingupright,arearseatpassengerincreases
theriskofpersonalinjuryfromimproperly
positionedsafetybelts!
—Alwaysadjusttheheadrestraintproperlyso

Fig.222Headrestraint:viewedfromthefront
Theheadrestraintsmustbecorrectlyadjustedto
achievethebestprotection.
>Adjust theheadrestraintssotheupperedgeis
asevenas possiblewiththetopofyourhead.If
thatisnotpossible,trytoadjusttheheadre-
straintso thatitisasclosetothispositionas
possible.Position*theheadrestraintasclose
aspossibletothe backofyourhead.
>Iftherearepassengersinrearseat,foldthe
headrestraintsup ontheoccupiedseats.
Adjustingheadrestraints>page57.


thatitcangivemaximumprotection.

Z\WARNING
Allseatsareequippedwithheadrestraints.
Drivingwithoutheadrestraintsorwithhead
restraintsthatarenotproperlyadjustedin-
creasestheriskof serious orfatalneckinjury
dramatically.Tohelpreducetheriskofinjury:
—Alwaysdrivewiththeheadrestraintsin
placeandproperlyadjusted.
—Everypersoninthevehiclemusthavea
properlyadjustedheadrestraint.
—Alwaysmakesureeachpersoninthevehicle
properlyadjuststheirheadrestraint.Adjust
theheadrestraintssotheupperedgeisas
evenaspossiblewiththe topofyourhead.
Ifthatisnotpossible,trytoadjustthehead
restraintsothatitisasclosetothisposition
aspossible.

257

Drivingsafety


—Neverattempttoadjustheadrestraintwhile
driving.Ifyouhavedrivenoffandmustad-
justthedriverheadrestforanyreason,first
stopthevehiclesafelybeforeattemptingto
adjusttheheadrestraint.
—Childrenmustalways beproperlyrestrained
inachildrestraintthatisappropriatefor
theirageandsize>page290.
Examplesofimproperseatingpositions
Theoccupantrestraintsystemcanonlyreduce
theriskofinjuryifvehicleoccupantsareproperly
seated.


Improperseatingpositionscancauseseriousin-
juryordeath.Safetybeltscanonlyworkwhen
theyareproperlypositionedonthebody.Im-
properseatingpositionsreducetheeffectiveness
of safety
beltsandwillevenincreasetheriskof
injuryanddeathbymovingthesafetybelttocrit-
icalareasofthebody.Improperseatingpositions
alsoincreasetheriskofseriousinjuryanddeath
whenanairbagdeploysandstrikesanoccupant
whoisnotintheproperseatingposition.Adriver
isresponsibleforthesafetyofallvehicleoccu-
pantsandespeciallyfor children.Therefore:
>Neverallowanyonetoassumeanincorrect
seatingpositionwhenthevehicleisbeingused
>.
Thefollowingbulletinslistonlysomesamplepo-
sitionsthatwillincreasetheriskofseriousinjury
anddeath.Ourhopeisthattheseexampleswill
makeyoumoreawareofseatingpositionsthat
aredangerous.
Therefore,wheneverthevehicleismoving:
—neverstandupinthevehicle
—neverstandontheseats
—neverkneelontheseats
—neverridewiththeseatbackreclined
—neverliedownontheseats
—neverleanupagainsttheinstrumentpanel
—neversitontheedgeoftheseat
—neversitsideways
—neverleanoutthewindow
—neverputyourfeetout thewindow
258
—neverputyourfeetontheinstrumentpanel
—neverrestyourfeetontheseatcushionorback
oftheseat
—neverrideinthefootwell
—neverrideinthecargoarea

ZA\WARNING
Improperseatingpositionsincreasetherisk
ofseriouspersonalinjuryanddeathwhenever
avehicleisbeingused.
—Alwaysmakesurethatallvehicleoccupants
stayinaproperseatingpositionandare
properlyrestrainedwhenever thevehicleis
beingused.

Pedalarea
The pedalsmustalwaysbefree tomoveand
mustneverbeinterferedwithby afloormator
anyotherobject.
Makesurethatallpedalsmovefreelywithoutin-
terferenceandthatnothingpreventsthemfrom
returningtotheiroriginalpositions.
Onlyusefloormatsthatleavethepedalareafree
andcan besecuredwithfloormatfasteners.
If abrakecircuitfails,increasedbrakepedaltrav-
elisrequiredtobringthevehicletoafullstop.

ZAWARNING
Pedalsthatcannotmovefreelycancauseloss
ofvehiclecontrolandincreasetheriskofseri-
ousinjury.
—Neverplaceanyobjectsinthedriver'sfoot-
well.Anobjectcouldgetintothepedalarea
andinterferewithpedalfunction.Incaseof
suddenbrakingoranaccident,youwould
notbeabletobrakeoraccelerate!
—Alwaysmakesurethatnothingcanfallor
moveintothedriver'sfootwell.

Safetybelts

Safetybelts
Generalinformation
DEERLLL8aes
Wearingsafetybeltscorrectlysaveslives!
Thischapterexplainswhysafetybeltsareneces-
sary,howtheyworkandhowtoadjustandwear
themcorrectly.
>Readalltheinformationthatfollowsandheed
alloftheinstructionsandWARNINGS.

ZA\WARNING
Notwearingsafetybeltsorwearingthemim-
properlyincreasestheriskof seriouspersonal
injuryanddeath.
—Safetybeltsarethesinglemosteffective
meansavailabletoreducetheriskofserious
injuryanddeathinautomobileaccidents.
Foryourprotectionandthat ofyourpassen-
gers,alwayscorrectlywearsafetybelts
whenthevehicleismoving.
—Pregnantwomen,injured,orphysicallyim-
pairedpersonsmustalsousesafetybelts.
Likeallvehicleoccupants,theyaremore
likelytobeseriouslyinjurediftheydonot
wearSafetybelts.Thebestwaytoprotecta
fetusistoprotectthe mother-throughout
theentirepregnancy.
Numberofseats
Appliesto:Vehicleswithfiveseats:Yourvehicle
hastwofrontseatsandthreerearseats.Each
seatingpositionhasasafetybelt.

Appliesto:Vehicleswithsevenseats:Yourvehi-
cleshastwofrontseats,threeseatsinthesec-
ond rowandtwoseatsinthethirdrow.Each
seatingpositionhasasafetybelt.

ZA\WARNING
Notwearingsafetybeltsorwearingthemim-
properlyincreasestheriskof seriouspersonal
injuryanddeath.
—Neverstrapmorethanoneperson,including
smallchildren,intoanybelt.Itisespecially


dangeroustoplaceasafetybeltoverachild
sittingonyourlap.
—Neverletmorepeoplerideinthevehicle
thantherearesafetybeltsavailable.
—Besureeveryoneridinginthevehicleis
properlyrestrainedwithaseparatesafety
beltorchildrestraint.
Safetybeltwarninglight
Yourvehiclehasawarningsystemforthedriver
andfrontseatpassengertoremindyouabout
theimportanceofbuckling-up.



B42-0526


Fig.223Safetybeltwarninglightintheinstrumentclus-
ter -enlarged
Beforedrivingoff,always:
>Fastenyoursafetybeltandmakesureyouare
wearingitproperly.
>Makesurethatyourpassengersalsobuckleup
andproperlyweartheirsafetybelts.
>Protectchildrenwitha childrestraintsystem
appropriateforthesizeandage.
Thewarninglightintheinstrumentcluster
lightsupwhentheignitionisswitchedonasare-
mindertofastenthesafetybelts.Inaddition,
youwillhearawarningtoneforacertainperiod
oftime.
Fastenyoursafetybeltandmakesurethatyour
passengersalsoproperlyputontheirsafety
belts.

ZA\WARNING
—Safetybeltsarethesinglemosteffective
meansavailabletoreducetheriskofserious
injuryanddeathinautomobileaccidents.
Foryourprotectionandthat ofyour>


260

4M0012721BG
Safetybelts

Importantsafetyinstructionsaboutsafety
Yha)
Safetybeltsmustalwaysbecorrectlypositioned
across thestrongestbonesofyourbody.
>Alwayswearsafetybeltsasillustratedandde-
scribed
inthischapter.
>Makesurethatyoursafetybeltsarealways
readyforuseandarenotdamaged.

ZAWARNING
Notwearingsafetybeltsorwearingthemim-
properlyincreasestheriskof seriouspersonal
injuryanddeath.Safetybeltscanworkonly
whenusedcorrectly.
—Alwaysfastenyoursafetybeltscorrectlybe-
foredrivingoffandmakesureallpassen-
gersarecorrectlyrestrained.
—Formaximumprotection,safetybeltsmust
always bepositionedproperlyonthebody.
—Neverstrapmorethanoneperson,including
smallchildren,intoanybelt.
—Neverplaceasafetybeltoverachildsitting
onyourlap.
—Alwayskeepfeetinthefootwellinfrontof
theseatwhilethevehicleisbeingdriven.
—Neverletanypersonridewiththeirfeeton
theinstrumentpanelorstickingout the
windoworontheseat.
—Neverremoveasafetybeltwhilethevehicle
ismoving.Doingsowillincreaseyourriskof
beinginjuredorkilled.
—Neverwearbeltstwisted.
—Neverwearbeltsoverrigidorbreakableob-
jectsinoronyourclothing,suchaseye
glasses,pens,keys,etc.,asthesemaycause
injury.
—Neverallowsafetybeltstobecomedam-
agedbybeingcaughtindoororseathard-
ware.
—Donotweartheshoulderpartofthebelt
underyourarmorotherwiseoutofposition.
—Severallayersofheavyclothingmayinter-
ferewithcorrectpositioningofbeltsandre-
ducetheoveralleffectiveness ofthe system.

—Alwayskeepbeltbucklesfreeofanything
thatmaypreventthebucklefromlatching
securely.
—Neverusecomfortclipsordevicesthatcre-
ateslackintheshoulderbelt.However,spe-
cialclipsmayberequiredfortheproper use
ofsomechildrestraintsystems.
—Tornorfrayedsafetybeltscantear,and
damagedbelthardwarecanbreakinanacci-
dent.Inspectbeltsregularly.Ifwebbing,
bindings,buckles,orretractorsaredam-
aged,havebeltsreplacedby anauthorized
Audidealerorqualifiedworkshop.
—Safetybeltsthathavebeenwornandloaded
inanaccidentmustbereplacedwiththe
correctreplacementsafetybeltby anau-
thorizedAudidealer.Replacementmaybe
necessaryevenifdamagecannotbeclearly
seen.Anchoragesthatwereloadedmustal-
sobeinspected.
—Neverremove,modify,disassemble,ortry
torepairthesafetybeltsyourself.
—Alwayskeepthebeltsclean.Dirty beltsmay
notworkproperlyandcan impairthefunc-
tionoftheinertiareel>tableInterior


cleaningonpage348.

Safetybelts
Fasteningsafetybelts
Safetyfirst-everybodybuckleup!
+>a a =a


Fig.229Beltbuckleandtongueonthedriver'sseat
Toprovidemaximumprotection,safetybelts
mustalways bepositionedcorrectlyonthe wear-
er'sbody.
>»Adjust thefrontseatandheadrestraintproper-
ly=page53,Frontseats.
263
>

Safetybelts

>Makesuretheseatbackoftherearseatbenchis
inanuprightpositionandsecurelylatchedin
placebeforeusingthebelt>/\.
>Pullthesafetybeltevenlyacrossthechestand
pelvis©fig.229,>A\.
> Insertthetongueintothecorrectbuckle of
yourseatuntilyouhearitlatchsecurely.
>Pullonthebelttomakesurethatitissecurely
latchedinthebuckle.
Automaticsafetybeltretractors
Everysafetybeltisequippedwithanautomatic
beltretractorontheshoulderbelt.Thisfeature
locksthebeltwhenthebeltispulledoutfast,
duringhardbrakingandinanaccident.Thebelt
mayalsolockwhenyoudriveupordownasteep
hillorthroughasharpcurve.Duringnormaldriv-
ingthebeltletsyoumovefreely.
Safetybeltpretensioners
Safetybeltswithpretensionershelptotighten
thesafetybeltandremoveslackwhenthepre-
tensionersareactivated>page266.Thefunc-
tionofthepretensionerismonitoredbyawarn-
inglight>page22.
Convertiblelockingretractor
Everysafetybeltexcept theoneonthedriver
seatisequippedwithaconvertiblelockingretrac-
torthatmustbeusedwhenthesafetybeltis
usedtoattacha childsafetyseat.Besuretoread
theimportantinformationaboutthisfeature
=>page301.

ZAWARNING
Improperlypositionedsafetybeltscancause
seriousinjuryinanaccident>page264,
Safetybeltposition.
—Safetybeltsofferoptimumprotectiononly
whentheseatbackisuprightandbeltsare
properlypositionedonthebody.
—Alwaysmakesurethattherearseatbackrest
towhichthecenterrearsafetybeltisat-
tachedissecurelylatchedwhenevertherear
centersafetybeltisbeingused.Iftheback-
restisnotsecurelylatched,thepassenger
willmoveforwardwiththebackrestduring

264

suddenbraking,inasuddenmaneuverand
especiallyinacrash.
—Neverattachthesafetybelt tothe buckle
foranotherseat.Attachingthebelttothe
wrongbucklewillreducesafetybelteffec-
tivenessandcancauseseriouspersonalin-
jury.
—Apassengerwhoisnotproperlyrestrained
canbeseriouslyinjuredbythesafetybeltit-
selfwhenitmovesfromthestrongerparts
ofthebodyintocriticalareasliketheabdo-
men.
—Alwayslocktheconvertiblelockingretractor
whenyouaresecuringachildsafetyseatin
thevehicle>page303.
Safetybeltposition
Correctbeltpositionisthekeytogettingmaxi-
mumprotectionfromsafetybelts.



B4H-0751



Fig.230Safetybeltposition
Standardfeaturesonyourvehiclehelpyouadjust
thepositionofthesafetybelttomatchyourbody
size.
—beltheightadjustmentforthefrontseats,
—height-adjustablefrontseats.

ZAWARNING
Improperlypositionedsafetybeltscancause
seriouspersonalinjuryinanaccident.
— Theshoulderbeltshouldlieasclosetothe
center ofthecollarboneaspossibleand
shouldfitwellonthebody.Holdthebelt
abovethelatchtongueandpullitevenly
acrossthechestsothatitsitsaslowaspos-
sibleonthepelvisandthereisnopressure
ontheabdomen.Thebeltshouldalwaysfit[>

Safetybelts

Adjustingsafetybeltheight
Withtheaidofthe safetybeltheightadjust-
ment,thethreepointsafetybeltstraprouting
canbefittedtotheshoulderarea,accordingto
body
size.
SB
Z|
==a

Fig.233Safetybeltheightadjustment-loop-aroundfit-
tings
Theshoulderbeltshouldlieasclosetothecenter
ofthecollarboneas possibleandshouldfitwell
onthebody>A\inSafetybeltpositionon
page264.
>Pushtheloop-aroundfittingsup>fig.233@,
or
>squeezetogetherthe(@)button,andpushthe
loop-aroundfittingsdown(2).
>Pullthebelttomakesurethattheupperat-
tachmentisproperlyengaged.

/Z\WARNING
AlwaysreadandheedallWARNINGSandoth-

erimportantinformation>page263.


Withthefrontseats,theheightadjustment
oftheseatcanalsobe usedtoadjustthepo-
sitionofthesafetybelts.
Improperlywornsafetybelts
Incorrectlypositionedsafetybeltscancausese-
vereinjuries.
Wearingsafetybeltsimproperly cancauseseri-
ousinjuryordeath.Safetybeltscanonlywork
whentheyarecorrectlypositionedonthebody.
Improperseatingpositionsreducetheeffective-
nessofsafetybeltsandwillevenincreasetherisk
266
ofinjuryanddeathbymovingthesafetybelt to
criticalareasofthebody.Improperseatingposi-
tionsalsoincreasetheriskof seriousinjuryand
deathwhenanairbagdeploysandstrikesanoc-
cupantwhoisnotinthecorrectseatingposition.
Adriverisresponsibleforthesafetyofallvehicle
occupantsandespeciallyfor children.Therefore:
>Neverpermitanyonetoassumeanincorrectsit-
tingpositioninthevehiclewhiletraveling
>.

Z\WARNING
Improperlywornsafetybeltsincreasetherisk
ofseriouspersonalinjuryanddeathwhenever
avehicleisbeingused.
—Alwaysmakesurethatallvehicleoccupants
arecorrectlyrestrainedandstayinacorrect
seatingpositionwhenever thevehicleisbe-
ingused.
—AlwaysreadandheedallWARNINGSand

otherimportantinformation>page263.

Belttensioners
Howsafetybeltpretensionerswork
Reversiblesafetybeltpretensioners
Thefollowingfunctionsare availablewhensafety
beltswithreversiblesafetybelttensionersare
fastened:
—Automatictensioners:atthestartofadrive,
thesafetybeltsautomaticallyadjusttothe
passengerafteracertaintimeperiodorvehicle
speed.Toswitchtheautomatictensionersoff,
selectthefollowingintheInfotainmentsys-
tem:[MENU]button>Car>leftcontrolbutton
>Vehiclesettings>Seats>Driver'sseator
Passenger'sseat>Automaticbelttensioner.
—Incertaindrivingsituations,thesafetybelts
maytightenwithareversibletensioningfunc-
tion>page111.
—Thesafetybeltsmayalsotightenwiththisre-
versibletensioningfunctioninminorcollisions.


Pyrotechnicsafetybeltpretensioners
Seatbeltswithpyrotechnicsafetybeltpreten-
sioners aretensionedautomaticallyinsevere>

Airbagsystem

Airbagsystem
Importantinformation
Importanceofwearingsafetybeltsand
sittingproperly
Airbagsareonlysupplementalrestraints.For
airbagstodotheirjob,occupantsmustalways
properlyweartheirsafetybeltsandbeina prop-
erseatingposition.
Foryoursafetyandthesafetyofyourpassen-
gers,beforedrivingoff,always:
>Adjustthedriver'sseatandsteeringwheel
properly>page255,
>Adjustthefrontpassenger'sseatproperly
=>page256,
>Wearsafetybeltsproperly>page263,
>Alwaysproperlyuse theproperchildrestraint
toprotectchildren>page290.
Inacollision,airbagsmustinflatewithinthe
blinkofaneyeandwithconsiderableforce.The
supplementalairbagscancauseinjuriesifthe
driverorthefrontseatpassengerisnotseated
properly.Thereforeinordertohelptheairbagto
doitsjob,itisimportant,bothasadriverandas
apassengertositproperlyatalltimes.
By keepingroombetweenyourbodyandthe
steeringwheelandthefrontofthepassenger
compartment,theairbagcaninflatefullyand
completelyandprovidesupplementalprotection
incertainfrontalcollisions>page255,Correct
passengerseatingpositions.Fordetailsonthe
operationoftheseatadjustmentcontrols
=>page53.
It'sespeciallyimportantthatchildrenareproper-
lyrestrained>page290.
Thereisalotthatthedriverandthepassengers
canandmustdotohelptheindividualsafetyfea-
turesinstalledinyourAudiworktogetherasa
system.
Properseatingpositionisimportantso thatthe
frontairbagonthedriver sidecandoitsjob.If
youhaveaphysicalimpairmentorconditionthat
preventsyoufromsittingproperlyonthedriver
seatwiththesafetybeltproperlyfastenedand
268
reachingthepedals,orifyouhaveconcernswith
regardtothefunctionoroperationoftheAd-
vancedAirbagSystem,pleasecontactyourau-
thorizedAudidealerorqualifiedworkshop,or
callAudi CustomerRelationsat1-800-822-2834
forpossiblemodificationstoyourvehicle.
Whentheairbagsystemdeploys,agas generator
willfilltheairbags,breakopenthepaddedcov-
ers,andinflatebetweenthesteeringwheeland
thedriverandbetweentheinstrumentpaneland
thefrontpassenger.Theairbagswilldeflateim-
mediatelyafterdeploymentsothatthefrontoc-
cupantscan seethroughthewindshieldagain
withoutinterruption.
Allofthistakesplaceintheblinkofaneye,so
fastthatmanypeopledon'tevenrealizethatthe
airbagshavedeployed.Theairbagsalsoinflate
withagreatdeal offorceandnothingshouldbe
intheirwaywhentheydeploy.Frontairbagsin
combinationwithproperlywornsafetybeltsslow
downandlimittheoccupant'sforwardmove-
ment.Togethertheyhelptopreventthedriver
andfrontseatpassengerfromhittingparts of
theinsideofthevehiclewhilereducingtheforces
actingontheoccupantduringthecrash.Inthis
waytheyhelptoreducetheriskofinjurytothe
headandupperbodyinthecrash.Airbagsdonot
protectthearmsorthelowerpartsofthebody.
Bothfrontairbagswillnotinflateinallfrontal
collisions.Thetriggeringoftheairbagsystemde-
pendsonthevehicledecelerationratecausedby
thecollisionandregisteredbytheelectroniccon-
trolunit.Ifthisrateisbelowthereferencevalue
programmedintothecontrolunit,theairbags
willnot betriggered,eventhoughthecarmaybe
badlydamagedasaresultofthecollision.Vehi-
cledamage,repaircostsoreventhelackofvehi-
cledamageisnotnecessarilyanindicationof
whetheranairbagshouldinflateornot.
Sincethecircumstanceswillvaryconsiderably
betweenonecollisionandanother,itisnotpossi-
bletodefinearangeofvehiclespeedsthatwill
cover everypossiblekindandangleofimpact
thatwillalwaystriggertheairbags.Important
factorsinclude,forexample,thenature(hardor
soft)oftheobjectwhichthecarhits,theangleof
impact,vehiclespeed,etc.Thefrontairbagswill>