Cupra ATECA, Owner'S Manual, Page: 19 / 380

Seat belts
the buckle could cause severe injuries in
the event of an accident. Therefore, you
must check the condition of all seat belts at
regular intervals.
●
Seat belts which have been worn in an ac-
cident and have been stretched must be re-
placed by a specialised workshop. Renewal
may be necessary even if there is no appa-
rent damage. The belt anchorage should
also be checked.
●
Do not attempt to repair a damaged seat
belt yourself. The seat belts must not be re-
moved or modified in any way.
●
The belts must be kept clean, otherwise
the retractors may not work properly.
Head-on collisions and the laws of
physics
Fig. 6
A driver not wearing a seat belt is thrown
forward violently.
Fig. 7
The unbelted passenger in the rear seat is
thrown 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 are easy to explain:
the moment a vehicle starts moving, a type
of energy called “kinetic energy” starts act-
ing on both the vehicle 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 “absorbed” 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 en-
ergy 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 frontal 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. 6
.
It is also important for rear passengers to
wear seat belts properly, as they could oth-
erwise be thrown forward violently through
the vehicle interior in an accident. Passen-
gers in the rear seats who do not use seat
belts endanger not only themselves but also
the front occupants
›››
Fig. 7 .
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