Front Air Bags - Alfa Romeo 147 Owner's Manual

FRONT AIR BAGS

Description and operation
The front Air bag (driver's and passenger's)
is a safety device that comes into action in
the event of a head-on collision.
fig. 54
fig. 55
It is formed of an instantly-inflating cush-
ion contained in a special recess:
– in the centre of the steering wheel for
the driver;
– in the dahsboard and with a larger-sized
cushion for the passenger.
The front Air bag (driver's and passenger's)
is a device designed to protect the occupants
in the event of a head-on collision of medi-
um-high severity by the interposition of the
cushion between the occupant and the steer-
A0A1010m
ing wheel or dashboard.
In the event of a crash, the electronic con-
trol unit processes the signals leading from
a deceleration sensor and when necessary
triggers inflation of the cushion.
The cushion inflates instantly as a protec-
tive barrier between the occupants' bodies
and the structures which could cause injury.
The cushion deflates immediately after-
wards.
The front Air bag (driver's and passenger's)
does not replace but is complementary to
A0A1011m
the use of belts, which should always be
worn, as specifed by law in Europe and most
non-European countries.
In the event of a crash a person that is not
wearing the seat belt moves forwards and
may come into contact with the cushion
while it is still opening. Under these cir-
cumstances the protection offered by the
cushion is reduced.
Front Air bags are designed to protect car's
occupants in front crashes and therefore non-
activation in other types of collisions (side
collisions, rear-end shunts, roll-overs, etc...)
is not a system malfunction.
In collisions against highly deformable or
mobile objects (road signposts, heaps of ice
or snow, etc.), rear collisions (hit from be-
hind by another car), side collisions, wedg-
ing under other cars or protective barriers
(for example under a lorry or guard rail) cut-
ting in of the air bag is not activated as it
does not offer any more protection than the
seat belts, therefore activaton would be in-
appropriate.
Therefore the failure to be triggered does
not mean that the system is not working.
WARNING
Never put stickers or other
objects on the steering wheel,
on the cover of the passenger's Air
bag or on the right side cover of the
roof. Never put objects on the dash-
board in front of the passenger (for
example mobile phones) which might
interfere with the correct inflation of
the passenger's Air bag and therefore
injure the car's occupants.
39