Volkswagen Touran Owners Manual: Frontal collisions and the laws of physics
Fig. 52 Passengers of a vehicle heading for a brick wall. They are not wearing seat belts
Fig. 53 A vehicle with unbelted occupants strikes the wall
First read and observe the introductory information
and safety warnings The physical principles involved in a frontal collision are relatively simple. Both the moving vehicle and the passengers possess energy, which is known as kinetic energy.
The higher the vehicle speed and the greater the weight of a vehicle will mean that more energy will have to be released in an accident.
The most significant factor, however, is the speed of the vehicle. If the speed doubles from 25 km/h to 50 km/h (15 mph to 30 mph), for example, the kinetic energy increases by a factor of four.
The amount of kinetic energy depends on the speed of the vehicle and the weight of the vehicle and passengers. The higher the speed and the greater the weight, the more energy there is to be released in an accident.
Passengers not wearing seat belts are not attached to the vehicle. In a frontal collision they will continue to move forward at the speed their vehicle was travelling just before the impact, until something stops it! Because the passengers in our example are not restrained by seat belts, the entire amount of kinetic energy has to be absorbed at the point of impact .
Even at speeds of 30 km/h (18 mph) to 50 km/h (30 mph), the forces acting on bodies in a collision can easily exceed one tonne (1,000 kg). At greater speed these forces are even higher.
This example applies not only to frontal collisions, but to all accidents and collisions.
Warning lamps
Fig. 51 Warning lamp in the
instrument cluster
First read and observe the introductory information
and safety warnings
Lights up or flashes
Possible ...
What happens to passengers who have not fastened their seat belts?
Fig. 54 A driver not wearing
a seat belt is thrown forward
Fig. 55 The unbelted rear
passenger is thrown forward violently, hitting the driver wearing a seat belt
First read and observe the i ...
Other materials:
Volkswagen Touran Owners Manual. Vehicle identification data
Fig. 15 A: Vehicle data sticker:
example shows a vehicle with engine code CBFA ③ B: Type plate
Fig. 16 Vehicle identification
number
First read and observe the introductory information
and safety warnings Vehicle identification number
The vehicle identification number can be r ...
Volkswagen Touran Owners Manual. Unlocking the selector lever lock manually
Fig. 197 Removing the cover of the gearshift
gate
Fig. 198 Unlocking the selector lever
lock manually
First read and observe the introductory information
and safety warnings If the power fails in the vehicle (for example if the
battery is discharged) and the vehicle has to be pushed or ...
