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Seat belts
Head-on collisions and the laws of
physics Fig. 8
A driver not wearing a seat belt is thrown
f orw
ard violently. Fig. 9
The unbelted passenger in the rear seat
is thr o
wn forward violently, hitting the driver
who is wearing a seat belt. The effects of the laws of physics in the case
of a head-on collision ar
e easy t
o explain: the
moment a vehicle starts moving, a type of en- ergy called “kinetic energy” starts acting on
both the vehicl
e and its passengers.
The amount of “kinetic energy” depends on
the speed of the vehicle and on the weight of
the vehicle and of its passengers. The higher
they are, the more energy there is to be “ab-
sorbed” in the event of an accident.
The most significant factor, however, is the
speed of the vehicle. If the speed doubles
from 25 km/h (15 mph) to 50 km/h (30 mph),
for example, the corresponding kinetic ener-
gy is multiplied by four.
Given that the passengers of the vehicle in
our example do not have their seat belts fas-
tened, in the event of a collision the entire
amount of the passengers' kinetic energy will
be only absorbed by the mentioned impact.
Even at speeds of 30 km/h (19 mph) to
50 km/h (30 mph), the forces acting on bod-
ies in a collision can easily exceed one tonne
(1000 kg). At greater speed these forces are
even higher.
Vehicle occupants 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 travelling just before
the impact. This example applies not only to
head-on collisions, but to all accidents and
collisions.
Even at low speeds the forces acting on the
body in a collision are so great that it is not possible to brace oneself with one's hands. In
a front
al collision, unbelted passengers are
thrown forward and will make violent contact
with the steering wheel, dash panel, wind-
screen or whatever else is in the way
››› Fig. 8.
It is also important for rear passengers to
wear seat belts properly, as they could other-
wise be thrown forward violently through the
vehicle interior in an accident. Passengers in
the rear seats who do not use seat belts en-
danger not only themselves but also the front
occupants ››› Fig. 9
.
19
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Safety
Front airbags Fig. 15
Driver airbag located in steering
wheel . Fig. 16
Front passenger airbag located in
dash panel .The driver's front airbag is housed in the
st
eering wheel and that of the fr
ont passen-
ger, on the dash panel. Airbags are identified
by the word “AIRBAG”. The airbag covers fold open and remain at-
tached t
o the steering wheel ››› Fig. 15
and
the dash panel ››› Fig. 16
when the driver and
front passenger airbags, respectively, are
triggered.
In conjunction with the seat belts, the front
airbag system gives the front occupants ad-
ditional protection for the head and chest in
the event of a severe frontal collision ››› .
Their special design all o
ws the controlled es-
cape of the propellant gas when an occu-
pant puts pressure on the bag. Thus, the
head and chest are protected by the airbag.
After the collision, the airbag deflates suffi-
ciently to allow visibility. WARNING
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Emergencies
Opening and closing the fuse box situated
bel o
w the dash panel (left-hand steering
wheel)
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Instruments and warning/control lamps
Digital dashboard (SEAT Digital Cockpit) Fig. 54
SEAT Digital Cockpit on the instrument
panel (cl assic vie
w). Details of the instruments:
Engine cool ant t
emperature display
››› page 80
Revolution counter. Revolutions per mi-
nute the engine is running ››› page 78
.
Gear engaged or position of the selec-
tor lever currently selected
Screen display ››› page 70
Speedometer
Digital speed display
Fuel gauge ››› page 79
.
Information Profile ››› page 67
.
1 2
3
4
5
6
7
8 The Digital SEAT Cockpit is an instrument
panel digit
al with monochr
ome screen in col-
our high resolution. It has a 3 views accessi-
ble using the button of the multifunction
st eering wheel. By sel
ecting different infor-
mation profiles, indications other than the
classic circular instruments can be displayed,
such as navigation data, multimedia informa-
tion or travel data.
The 3 views are:
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