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How Does an Airbag Restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near frontal
collisions, even belted occupants can contact the
steering wheel or the instrument panel. In
moderate to severe side collisions, even belted
occupants can contact the inside of the vehicle.
Airbags supplement the protection provided
by safety belts. Airbags distribute the force of the
impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper
body, stopping the occupant more gradually. But
the frontal airbags would not help you in many
types of collisions, including rollovers, rear
impacts, and many side impacts, primarily because
an occupant’s motion is not toward the airbag.
Side impact airbags would not help you in many
types of collisions, including many frontal or
near frontal collisions, rollovers, and rear impacts.
Airbags 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 for the driver’s and right front
passenger’s frontal airbags, and only in moderate
to severe side collisions for vehicles with side
impact airbags.
What Will You See After an Airbag
Inflates?
After frontal airbags and seat-mounted side impact
airbags inflate, they quickly deflate, so quickly
that some people may not even realize an airbag
inflated. Roof-mounted side impact airbags
may still be at least partially inflated minutes after
the vehicle comes to rest. Some components
of the airbag module — the steering wheel hub for
the driver’s airbag, the instrument panel for the
right front passenger’s bag, the side of the
seatback closest to the door for the seat-mounted
side impact airbags, and the area along the
ceiling of your vehicle near the side windows for
roof-mounted side impact airbags — may be
hot for a short time. The parts of the airbag that
come into contact with you may be warm, but not
too hot to touch. There may be some smoke
and dust coming from the vents in the deflated
airbags. Airbag inflation does not prevent the driver
from seeing out of the windshield or being able
to steer the vehicle, nor does it prevent people
from leaving the vehicle.
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