How
does an air bag restrain?
In
moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or
the
instrument panel. Air bags supplement the protection
provided by safety belts. Air bags distribute the force of
the impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper body,
stopping the occupant more gradually. But air bags would
not help you
in
many types of collisions, including
rollovers, rear impacts and side impacts, primarily because
an occupant’s motion is not toward those air bags. Air
bags should never be regarded as anything more than a
supplement to safety belts, and then only
in
moderate to
severe frontal or near-frontal collisions.
What will you see after an air bag inflates?
After an air bag inflates,
it
quickly deflates,
so
quickly
that some people may not even realize the air bag
inflated. Some components of the air bag module in the
steering wheel
hub
for the driver’s air
bag,
or the
instrument panel for the right front passenger’s bag, will
be hot for
a
short time. The parts of the bag that come
into contact with you may be warm, but not too hot to
touch. There will be some smoke and dust coming from
vents in the deflated air bags. Air bag inflation doesn’t
prevent the driver from seeing or from being able to
steer the vehicle, nor does
it
stop people from leaving
the vehicle.
When an air bag inflates, there is dust in the air.
This dust could cause breathing problems for
people with a history of asthma or other
breathing trouble.
To
avoid this, everyone in the
vehicle should get out
as
soon as
it
is safe to
do
so.
If you have breathing problems but can’t get out
of the vehicle after an air bag inflates, then get
fresh air
by
opening a window or door.
Air bags are designed to inflate only once. After they
inflate, you’ll need some new parts for your air bag
system.
If
you don’t get them, the air bag system
won’t be there to help protect you
in
another crash.
A new system
will
include air bag modules and
possibly other parts. The service manual for your
vehicle covers the need to replace other parts.
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Your vehicle is equipped
with
a crash sensing and
diagnostic module, which records information about
the
air bag system. The module records information
about
the
readiness of the system,
when
the sensors are
activated and driver’s safety belt usage at deployment.
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