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Safety system of your vehicle
2
To help provide protection, the airbags must inflate rapidly. The speed
of air bag inflation is a consequence
of extremely short time in which to
inflate the air bag between the
occupant and the vehicle structures
before the occupant impacts those
structures. This speed of inflation
reduces the risk of serious or life-
threatening injuries and is thus a
necessary part of air bag design.
However, the rapid air bag inflation
can also cause injuries which can
include facial abrasions, bruises and
broken bones because the inflation
speed also causes the air bags to
expand with a great deal of force.
There are even circumstances under which contact with the air
bag can cause fatal injuries, espe-
cially if the occupant is positioned
excessively close to the air bag.
You can take steps to reduce the risk
of being injured by an inflating air
bag. The greatest risk is sitting too
close to the air bag. An air bag needs
about 10 inches (25 cm) of space to
inflate. NHTSA recommends that
drivers allow at least 10 inches
(25 cm) between the center of the
steering wheel and the chest. When the SRSCM detects a suffi-
ciently severe impact to the front of
the vehicle, it will automatically
deploy the front air bags.
OHM039102N
■Driver’s front air bag (1)
To reduce the risk of serious
injury or death from an inflating
air bag, take the following pre-
cautions:
NEVER place a child restraint
in the front passenger seat.
Always properly restrain chil-
dren under age 13 in the rear
seats of the vehicle.
Adjust the front passenger's
and driver’s seats as far to the
rear as possible while allow-
ing you to maintain full con-
trol of the vehicle.
Hold the steering wheel with
hands at the 9 o'clock and 3
o'clock positions.
Never place anything or any-
one between the air bag and
the seat occupant.
Do not allow the front passen-
ger to place their feet or legs
on the dashboard.
WARNING
