1996 Mercury Villager Owner Guide 1st Printing - Page 26

The Importance of Wearing Safety Belts R WARNING Safety belts must be worn by all vehicle occupants to be properly restrained and help reduce the risk of injury in a collision. R WARNING All occupants of the vehicle, including the driver, should always wear their safety belts, even when an air bag Supplemental Restraint System is provided. There are four very important reasons to use safety belts even with a supplemental air bag system. Use your safety belts to: s help keep you in the proper position when the supplemental air bag inflates s reduce the risk of harm in rollover, side or rear impact accidents. The air bag supplemental restraint system is not designed to inflate in such situations s reduce the risk of harm in frontal collisions that are not severe enough to activate the supplemental air bag s reduce the risk of being thrown from your vehicle The Importance of Being Properly Seated In a collision, the air bag must inflate extremely fast to help provide additional protection for you. In order to do this, the air bag must inflate with considerable force. If you are not seated in a normal riding position with your back against the seatback, the air bag may not protect you properly and could possibly hurt you as it inflates. 24