Im Auto mitfahren
You are getting a lift five minutes down the road, sitting in the back. What do you do?
Erklärung: Every seat, every trip. Most crashes happen on short, familiar journeys at ordinary town speeds, which is exactly the trip people leave the belt off for.
You are fastening the belt. Where does the lap part go?
Erklärung: The belt has to load bone. Over the soft stomach it drives into the organs in a crash instead of holding the pelvis.
The diagonal part of the belt is cutting into your neck. What do you do?
Erklärung: Most cars have an adjustable upper anchor. Under the arm or behind the back the belt no longer holds your upper body, which is the half that hits the seat in front.
It is winter and you are wearing a thick padded coat. What do you do before belting up?
Erklärung: Padding compresses instantly in a crash, so the belt starts working only after you have already been moving for several centimetres — which is where the injury comes from.
You are in the back and the person next to you says the belt is unnecessary there. What do you say?
Erklärung: In a 50 km/h crash an unbelted adult arrives in the back of the front seat with the weight of a small piano. The belt in the back is worn as much for the driver as for yourself.
An eleven-year-old who is 140 cm tall is getting into the car. What do they need?
Erklärung: The rule is twelve years OR 150 centimetres, whichever comes first — so a small twelve-year-old still needs one and a tall ten-year-old may not.
You are getting out of the back seat on the traffic side of the street. What do you do?
Erklärung: Reaching across turns your shoulders and head towards the traffic, so you look before the door moves. German law simply says nobody may be endangered by your door — this is the habit that delivers it.
A rear-facing baby seat may be placed on the front passenger seat while the front airbag is switched on.
Erklärung: Never. A deploying front airbag strikes the back of a rear-facing seat at the height of the baby's head. The airbag has to be off, or the seat goes in the back.
In a taxi in Germany a passenger in the back still has to wear the belt.
Erklärung: Yes. There is no taxi exception for passengers, and every seat with a belt is a seat where the belt goes on.
In which seats of a German car must the belt be worn?
Antwort:
every seat that has one
Erklärung: Front and back, every trip, however short.
Where does the lap part of the belt lie?
Antwort:
low across the hip bones
Erklärung: Bone, not belly. That is the whole design of the lap belt.
Where does the diagonal part of the belt lie?
Antwort:
across the middle of the shoulder
Erklärung: Not on the neck and not off the edge of the arm.
Until when does a child need a child seat or booster?
Antwort:
until 12 years or 150 cm
Erklärung: Whichever comes first — the size matters as much as the age.
Which hand do you open a car door with, and why?
Hattest du es gewusst?
Antwort:
the far hand, so you turn and look back
Erklärung: Right hand on the left-hand door. The reach turns your shoulders and head towards the traffic before the door has moved at all.
What does the German verb "anschnallen" mean?
Antwort:
to put the seat belt on
Erklärung: "Bitte anschnallen" is what a German driver says before pulling away.
What does the German word "Sicherheitsgurt" mean?
Antwort:
seat belt
Erklärung: Sicherheit is safety, Gurt is belt. Usually shortened to just Gurt.
Why does an unbelted passenger in the back endanger the people in front?
Hattest du es gewusst?
Antwort:
they are thrown into the seat in front at full speed
Erklärung: At 50 km/h a body arrives with roughly the weight of a small piano. The belted person in front is hit from behind, where nothing protects them.