Seat belts, Airbags and Child seat

• Wearing a seat belt helps to keep you safe in a crash when it is worn correctly
• Seat belts are designed to be worn on the bony structure of the body and should be worn across the front of the pelvis, chest and shoulders
• The seat belt must be firmly adjusted, this is to provide the protection it has been designed for. It must not be twisted. It must restrain only one occupant.
• It is important to put your seat belt on as soon as you are seated in your vehicle and wear it at all times even if you are only driving a short distance. As a driver you must wear your seat belt.
• Seat belts hold you securely in place. If you are a driver, this helps you control the car in a crash situation.
• Seat belts protect everyone in a vehicle. If a seat belt is not worn in a collision, the vehicle may come to a sudden stop but the people inside the vehicle will continue to move within the cabin at the original speed of the car.
• Serious injuries often result when people are thrown into each other or parts of the vehicle; such as the steering wheel, gear stick, windscreen, or the back of the front seat during a crash
• It is important to realise that airbags do not take the place of seat belts. With an airbag you can still be thrown out of your car, so always wear your seat belt correctly
• Car seats (or seat belts for adults) are designed to absorb some crash forces and spread the remaining crash forces over a larger area of the body.

  The infant's body especially the neck area is not strong enough to withstand the crash forces when the seat is facing forward.
• Rear-facing car seat distributes the crash force along the entire back, neck and head, putting less stress and trauma on any part of the body.
• Rear-facing car seats should never be placed on the front passenger seat as deploying airbag can result to fatal injuries to the infant
• Four key safety points for car seats:

  1. restrain your child on every trip, every time
  2. keep your child in the back seat
  3. use the best safety restraint for your child's size
  4. use the child safety seats and belts correctly
• The airbags are one of the most helpful accessories that can save your life when you face any dangerous or misery-filled situation while you travel
• The most commonly available options of airbags is the front airbags, to protect you in head-on or frontal crashes
• Side-impact airbags inflate in a side-on crash to protect people on the crashed side.
• Side torso (chest-protecting) airbags protect the torso area and are usually stored in the seat by the door.
• Side torso and head airbags also provide head protection.
• Side curtain airbags are stored behind the roof trim, above the doors. They usually cover the front and rear windows when they inflate, protecting people in both seats.
• Headside airbags protect your head from coming into contact with the object you've hit - such as trees and poles. They can prevent fatalities that would otherwise be inevitable in this type of crash
• Knee airbags are a new safety feature, they help to keep people in their seated position during a front-on crash