Occupant safety
Notes on occupant safety
Seat belts, together with belt tensioners, belt
force limiters and airbags, are complemen-
tary, coordinated restraint systems. They
reduce the risk of injury in specific, pre-
defined types of accident situations and,
thereby, increase occupant safety. However,
seat belts and airbags generally do not pro-
tect against objects penetrating the vehicle
from the outside.
To ensure that the restraint systems can
deliver their full potential protection, you
should ensure that:
R
the seat and head restraint are adjusted
properly (
Y
page 193).
R
the seat belt has been fastened properly
(
Y
page 203).
R
the airbags can inflate properly if they are
deployed (
Y
page 41).
R
the steering wheel is adjusted properly
(
Y
page 199).
R
the restraint systems have not been modi-
fied.
i
An airbag increases the protection of
vehicle occupants wearing a seat belt.
However, airbags are only an additional
restraint system which complements, but
does not replace, the seat belt. All vehicle
occupants must wear their seat belt cor-
rectly at all times, even if the vehicle is
equipped with airbags. This is because – on
the one hand – airbags are not deployed in
all types of accident, as in some situations
airbag deployment would not increase the
protection afforded to vehicle occupants,
provided they are wearing their seat belt
correctly. On the other hand, airbag deploy-
ment only provides increased protection if
the seat belt is worn correctly because:
R
the seat belt helps to keep the vehicle
occupant in the best position in relation
to the airbag.
R
for example, in a head-on collision, the
seat belt can more adequately prevent
the occupant from being propelled
towards the point of the impact, and is
thus better suited to prevent injury.
Therefore, in accident situations where an
airbag is deployed, it only provides protec-
tion in addition to the seat belt if the seat
belt is being worn correctly.
G
Risk of accident and injury
Always have maintenance work carried out at
a qualified specialist workshop which has the
necessary specialist knowledge and tools to
carry out the work required.
Mercedes-Benz recommends that you use a
Mercedes-Benz Service Centre for this pur-
pose.
In particular, work relevant to safety or on
safety-related systems must be carried out at
a qualified specialist workshop. If this work is
not carried out correctly, the operating safety
of your vehicle may be affected. There is a risk
of an accident and injury.
G
Risk of injury
Modifications to or work performed incor-
rectly on the following parts can result in the
restraint systems not functioning as intended:
R
the restraint system, consisting of seat
belts and their anchorage points, belt ten-
sioners, belt force limiters and airbags
R
the wiring
R
any networked electronic systems
Airbags and belt tensioners could fail, e.g. in
the event of an accident, the deceleration
force of which would normally be sufficient to
trigger the systems, or could be triggered
unintentionally. For this reason, never make
any modifications to the restraint systems.
38
Occupant safety
Safety
221_AKB; 2; 3, en-GB
bjanott,
Version: 2.11.7.7
2009-02-27T14:56:10+01:00 - Seite 38
Dateiname: 6515231002_buchblock.pdf; erzeugt am 03. Mar 2009 15:16:48; WK
