Airbags - BMW 2002 Z8 Owner's Manual

Airbags

150n
Deceleration sensors continuously
monitor the acceleration forces acting
upon the vehicle. If there is a decelera-
tion because of a collision, where the
protection normally afforded by the
safety belts is no longer sufficient by
itself, then the gas generators for the
front airbag will be simultaneously
ignited on both the driver and pas-
senger sides. The front airbag on the
passenger side, however, will be
deployed only if a second sensor has
detected that the passenger seat is
occupied.
In the event of a side collision, only the
side airbags will be triggered if neces-
sary. And only that airbag for that side
of the vehicle where the collision
occurred will be triggered.
The airbags located under the marked
covers inflate and unfold in a matter of
milliseconds. In this process, they tear
through the designed separation points
of the covers or press them out.
Because the inflation process must be
virtually instantaneous, it is necessarily
accompanied by a certain amount of
ignition and inflation noise. The gas
required to inflate the airbags is not
dangerous, and the associated smoke
then dissipates.
The entire process is completed within
fractions of a second.
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