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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. Air bags supplement
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, rear impacts and side impacts, primarily because
an occupant’s motion is not toward those air bags. 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 an air bag inflates,
it
quickly deflates,
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. The parts
of
the bag that come
into contact with you may be warm, but not too hot to
touch. There will be some smoke and dust coming from
vents in the deflated air bags. Air bag inflation doesn’t
prevent the driver from seeing or from being able to
steer the vehicle, nor does
it
stop people from leaving
the vehicle.
When an air bag inflates, there is dust
in
the air.
This dust could cause breathing problems for
people with
a
history of asthma or other
breathing trouble. To avoid this, everyone in the
vehicle should get out as soon as
it
is
safe to do
so.
If you have breathing problems but can’t get out
of the vehicle after an air bag inflates, then get
fresh air by opening a window or door.
In many crashes severe enough to inflate an air bag,
windshields are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may also occur from the
right front passenger air bag.
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Air bags are designed to inflate only once. After they
inflate, you’ll need some new parts for your air bag
system. If you don’t get them, the air bag system
won’t be there to help protect you in another crash.
A
new system will include air bag modules and
possibly other parts. The service manual for your
vehicle covers the need to replace other parts.
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