Saturday, January 4, 2014
How the Air Bag System Works
Where is the air bag?
The driver's air bag is in the middle of the steering
wheel. air bag is
not designed to inflate in rollovers, side
impacts, or rear impacts, because inflation would not
help the occupant.
in a crash only one of the two air bags
It is possible that
in your Riviera will deploy. This is rare, but can happen
in a crash just severe enough to make an air bag inflate.
In any particular crash, no one can say
whether an air
bag should have inflated simply because of the damage
to a vehicle or because
of what the repair costs were.
of the impact and
Inflation is determined by the angle
the vehicle’s deceleration. Vehicle damage is only one
indication of this.
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| How the Air Bag System Works |
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. 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 help you 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 belts, and then only in
moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions.
What will you see after an air bag inflates? After the air bag inflates, it quickly deflates. This occurs 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, but the part of the bag that comes into contact with you will not be hot to the touch. There will be some smoke and dust coming from vents in the deflated air bags. Air bag inflation will not prevent the driver from seeing or from being able to steer the vehicle, nor will it stop people from leaving the vehicle.
What will you see after an air bag inflates? After the air bag inflates, it quickly deflates. This occurs 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, but the part of the bag that comes into contact with you will not be hot to the touch. There will be some smoke and dust coming from vents in the deflated air bags. Air bag inflation will not prevent the driver from seeing or from being able to steer the vehicle, nor will it stop people from leaving the vehicle.
