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Q: How does an air bag restrain?
A: In moderate to severe frontal or
near=frontal collisions, even belted
occupants
can contact the steering
wheel. The air bag supplements 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 provide protection in
many types of collisions; including.
rollovers and rear and side impacts,
primarily because
an occupant's
.: - motion is not toward the air bag. Air
bags should never be regarded as
anything more than a supplement to
safety belt protection in hoderate to
severe frontal
and near-frontal
collisions.
Q: What wiu you see after an air bag
Mation?
A: Mer the air bag has inflated, it will
then quickly
deffate. This occurs so
quickly that some people may not
even realize that the air bag Sated.
The air bag will not impede the
driver's vision
or ability to steer the
vehicle,
nor will it hinder the
occupants from exiting the vehicle.
There
will be small amounts of
smoke
coming from vents in the
deflated
air bag. Some components
of the air bag module in the steering
wheel
hub may be hot for a short
time, but the portion of the bag that
comes into contact
with you will not
be hot to the touch. The nitrogen gas
used to inflate the air bag will have ventdinto
the passenger
compartment, and the
bag will be
deflated within seconds after the
"collision. Nitrogen makes
up about
80% of the air we breathe and is not
hazardous. As the nitrogen vents
from the bag, small particles we also
vented into the passenger
compartment.
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