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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. The air
bag supplements 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
provide protection in many types of collisions, including rollovers and
rear and side impacts, primarily because an occupant's motion is not
toward the air bag. Air bags should never be regarded as anything more
than a supplement to safety belt protection in moderate to severe frontal
and near-frontal collisions.
What will you see after an air bag inflation?
After the air bag has inflated, it will then quickly deflate. This occurs so
quickly that some people may not even realize that 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 passenger's bag may be
hot for a short time, but the portion of the bag that comes into contact
with you will not be hot to the touch. There will be small amounts of
smoke and dust coming from vents in the deflated air bags. The air bag
will
not
impede the driver's vision or ability to steer the vehicle, nor will it
hinder the occupants from exiting the vehicle.
In many crashes severe enough to inflate an air bag, windshields are
broken by vehicle deformation. Additional windshield breakage may
occur in vehicles with passenger air bags because
the windshield acts as a
reaction surface for the inflating air bag.
The 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 has information about the need to replace other
parts.
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