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How does an air bag restrain?
[n 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. 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. There
will be small amounts of smoke coming
from vents in the deflated air bags. 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
t
1
t
t
I
1
4
1
1
r
>
ime, but the portion of the bag that comes
nto contact with you will not be hot to
he
touch. The nitrogen gas used to inflate
_._
.~
~
he air bag will have vented into the
Iassenger compartment, and the bag will
Je deflated within seconds after the
:ollision. Nitrogen makes
up
about
80%
3f
the air we breathe and is not hazardous.
As the nitrogen vents from the bag, small
particles are also vented into the
passenger compartment.
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.
2 9 - 9 .
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