Volkswagen Golf GTI 2016, Owner'S Manual

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wall.
Please first read and note the introductory information and
heed the WARNINGS →
Introduction
The physical principles of a frontal collision are simple. Both the
moving vehicle and the passenger possess energy → Fig. 55 ,
which varies with vehicle speed and body weight. Engineers call
this energy kinetic energy.
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the greater the vehicle's
weight, the more energy has to be absorbed in a crash.
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor. If your speed doubles
(for example, from 15 mph to 30 mph – 25 km/h to 50 km/h), the
energy increases 4 times!
Because the occupants of the vehicle in the above example are not
using safety belts, they are not attached to the vehicle. In a frontal
collision, they will keep moving at the same speed the vehicle was
moving just before the crash, until something stops them - here, the
inside of the passenger compartment. Because the occupants of
the vehicle in the example are not wearing safety belts, their entire
kinetic energy will be absorbed by impact with the wall → Fig. 56 .
The same principles apply to people in a vehicle that is in a frontal