2009 Mazda CX-9 Owner's Manual - Page 32

Essential Safety Equipment Seat Belt Systems WARNING Always wear your seat belt and make sure all occupants are properly restrained: Not wearing a seat belt is extremely dangerous. During a collision, occupants not wearing seat belts could hit someone or things inside the vehicle or even be thrown out of the vehicle. They could be seriously injured or even killed. In the same collision, occupants wearing seat belts would be much safer. Do not wear twisted seat belts: Twisted seat belts are dangerous. In a collision, the full width of the belt is not available to absorb the impact. This puts more force on the bones beneath the belt, which could cause serious injury or death. Never use one seat belt on more than one person at a time: Using one seat belt for more than one person at a time is dangerous. A seat belt used in this way cannot spread the impact forces properly and the two passengers could be crushed together and seriously injured or even killed. Never use one belt for more than one person at a time and always operate the vehicle with each occupant properly restrained. Do not operate a vehicle with a damaged seat belt: Using a damaged seat belt is dangerous. An accident could damage the belt webbing of the seat belt in use. A damaged seat belt cannot provide adequate protection in a collision. Have an Authorized Mazda Dealer inspect all seat belt systems in use during an accident before they are used again. Have your seat belts changed immediately if the pretensioner or load limiter has been expended: One or both front air bags may deploy, and the corresponding pretensioner(s) may also deploy at the same time. Like the air bags, the seat belt pretensioners will only function once. While it is safer to use a post-crash (a seat belt that was used in an accident) than no seat belt at all, using a seat belt with an expended pretensioner or load limiter loaded reduces the safety available to you. If the seat belt pretensioners are not replaced, the risk of injury in a collision will increase. Expended seat belt pretensioners and air bags must be replaced after any collision which caused them to deploy. Additionally, the load limiter will only limit loads on the chest once in a collision and this is another reason to have the front seat belts inspected. Always have an Authorized Mazda Dealer inspect the seat belt pretensioners and air bags after any collision. In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is significantly more likely to die than a person wearing a seat belt. 2-20