The Importance Of Being Properly Seated - Ford Vehicle Owner's Manual

There are four very important reasons to use
safety belts even with an air bag system. Use
your safety belts to:
help keep you in the proper seating position
(away from the air bag) when it inflates
reduce the risk of harm in rollover, side or
rear impact collisions, because an air bag is
not designed to inflate in such situations
reduce the risk of harm in frontal collisions
that are not severe enough to activate the
supplemental air bag
reduce the risk of being thrown from your
vehicle

The Importance of Being Properly Seated

In a collision, the air bag must inflate extremely
fast to help provide additional protection for
you. In order to do this, the air bag must inflate
with considerable force. If you are not seated in
a normal riding position with your back against
the seatback, the air bag may not protect you
properly and could possibly hurt you as it
inflates.
Do not place objects or mount equipment
on or near the air bag cover on the
steering wheel or in front seat areas that
may come in contact with a deploying air
bag. Failure to follow this instruction may
increase the risk of personal injury in the
event of a collision.
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