GMC 1996 Sierra Owner's Manual page 30

Here are the most important things to know about the
air bag system:
A
CAUTION:
-
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash if
you aren't wearing your safety belt
--
even if you
have an air bag. Wearing your safety belt during a
crash helps reduce your chance of hitting things
inside the vehicle or being ejected from it. The air
bag is only
a
"supplemental restraint." That is, it
works with safety belts but doesn't replace them.
Air bags are designed to work only in moderate to
severe crashes where the front of your vehicle hits
something. They aren't designed to inflate
at
all in
rollover, rear, side or low-speed frontal crashes.
Everyone in your vehicle, including the driver,
should wear a safety belt properly
--
whether or
not there's an air bag for that person.
A
CAUTION:
Air bags inflate with great force, faster than the
blink of an eye. If you're too close to an inflating
air bag, it could seriously injure you. Safety belts
help keep you in position for an air bag inflation
in a crash. Always wear your safety belt, even
with
an
air bag, and sit as far back as you can
while still maintaining control of your vehicle.
AIR
BAG
'
There is an air bag
readiness light on the
instrument panel, which
shows AIR BAG.
The system checks the air bag's electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical
problem. See "Air Bag Readiness Light" in the Index
for more information.
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