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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
--
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.
I-
When an air bag
i.
ates, 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.
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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