This part of the manual tells you how to use safety belts properly. It also tells you some things you should not do with safety belts.
Caution: It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo area, inside or outside of a vehicle. This includes riding on the tailgate, even when the vehicle is operated at low speeds. In a collision, people riding in these areas are more likely to be seriously injured or killed. People riding on the tailgate can easily lose their balance and fall in response to vehicle maneuvers. Falling from a moving vehicle may result in serious injuries or death.
Do not allow people to ride in, or on, any area of your vehicle that is not equipped with seats and safety belts. Be sure everyone in your vehicle is in a seat and using a safety belt properly.Caution: It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo area, inside or outside of a vehicle. In a collision, people riding in these areas are more likely to be seriously injured or killed. Do not allow people to ride in any area of your vehicle that is not equipped with seats and safety belts. Be sure everyone in your vehicle is in a seat and using a safety belt properly.
Your vehicle has indicators to remind you and your passengers to buckle your safety belts. See Safety Belt Reminder Light and Passenger Safety Belt Reminder Light .
In most states and in all Canadian provinces, the law says to wear safety belts. Here is why: They work .
You never know if you will be in a crash. If you do have a crash, you do not know if it will be a bad one.
A few crashes are mild, and some crashes can be so serious that even buckled up, a person would not survive. But most crashes are in between. In many of them, people who buckle up can survive and sometimes walk away. Without belts they could have been badly hurt or killed.
After more than 40 years of safety belts in vehicles, the facts are clear. In most crashes buckling up does matter ... a lot!
Why Safety Belts Work
When you ride in or on anything, you go as fast as it goes.
Take the simplest vehicle. Suppose it is just a seat on wheels.
Put someone on it.
Get it up to speed. Then stop the vehicle. The rider does not stop.
The person keeps going until stopped by something. In a real vehicle, it could be the windshield...
or the instrument panel...
or the safety belts!
With safety belts, you slow down as the vehicle does. You get more time to stop. You stop over more distance, and your strongest bones take the forces. That is why safety belts make such good sense.
