Details

Seat belts, its more important to buckle up today then ever before!

Written by Paul Hrynew

Category: GM Service Information

Hits: 921

With vehicle restraint systems improving day by day, it is important to wear your seat belt to keep you in your seat should an accident occur.

 Today’s vehicles are often criticized for what people think is excessive damage when there has been an accident. Think of the external body panels of your vehicle as a sphere and you being in a protecting ball or zone within the center of the vehicle. The external panels are designed to crush or crumble and absorb the impact while the seat belt and restraint systems are to protect you from bouncing around in the interior. They are designed and built this way to protect the occupant.

There are many different safety systems in today’s vehicles including, steering wheel airbag, roof rail or curtain airbags, seat mounted side impact bags, seat belt pretensioners, passenger seat sensing systems, seat position sensors, and roll over sensors. All of these items are designed in conjunction with your seat belts being properly fastened and adjusted. There’s a great deal of information in an owner’s manual that’s specific to your make and model which I recommend reading.

In celebration of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s 50th anniversary they performed a crash test between a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air and a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The results were remarkable to say the least.

/images/stories/videos/crash%20-impala-lakewood.flv

• < Prev