What Makes An Air Bag Inflate; How Does An Air Bag Restrain; What Will You See After An Air Bag Inflates - Chevrolet 1998 Cavalier Owner's Manual

What makes an air bag inflate?
In an impact of sufficient seventy, the air bag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. The sensing
system triggers a release of gas from the inflator, which
inflates the air bag. The inflator, air bag and related
hardware are all part of the air bag modules inside the
steering wheel and in the instrument panel in front of the
right front passenger.
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
a i r
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
anythng
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
--
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.
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