How Does An Airbag Restrain; What Will You See After An Airbag Inflates - Pontiac Wave 2009 Owner's Manual

How Does an Airbag Restrain?

In moderate to severe frontal or near frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or
the instrument panel. In moderate to severe side
collisions, even belted occupants can contact the inside
of the vehicle.
Airbags supplement the protection provided by safety
belts. Frontal airbags distribute the force of the
impact more evenly over the occupant's upper body,
stopping the occupant more gradually. Seat-mounted
side impact airbags distribute the force of the impact
more evenly over the occupant's upper body.
But airbags would not help in many types of collisions,
primarily because the occupant's motion is not
toward those airbags. See When Should an Airbag
Inflate? on page 1-62 for more information.
Airbags should never be regarded as anything more
than a supplement to safety belts.
1-64
What Will You See After an Airbag
Inflates?
After the frontal and seat-mounted side impact
airbags inflate, they quickly deflate, so quickly that
some people may not even realize the airbags inflated.
Some components of the airbag module may be hot
for several minutes. For location of the airbag modules,
see What Makes an Airbag Inflate? on page 1-63.
The parts of the airbag that come into contact with you
may be warm, but not too hot to touch. There may
be some smoke and dust coming from the vents in the
deflated airbags. Airbag inflation does not prevent
the driver from seeing out of the windshield or being
able to steer the vehicle, nor does it prevent people from
leaving the vehicle.