Advertisement
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 help you 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 belts, and then only in
moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions.
What will you see after an air bag inflates?
After the
a i r
bag inflates, it quickly deflates. This occurs
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, but the part of the bag that comes
into contact with you will not be hot to the touch. There
will be some smoke and dust coming from vents in the
deflated air bags. Air bag inflation will not prevent the
driver from seeing or from being able to steer the
vehicle, nor will it stop people from leaving the vehicle.
In m y crashe.s severe enough
to
M a t e an air bag,
windshields are broken by vehxle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may also occur from the
right. front passenger air bag.
1-22
Advertisement
