78 SEATS AND RESTRAINTSBoth roof-rail airbags will inflate wheneither side of the vehicle is struck,if the sensing system predicts that thevehicle is about to roll over on itsside, or in a severe frontal impact.In any particular crash, no one cansay whether an airbag should haveinflated simply because of the vehicledamage or repair costs.What Makes an AirbagInflate?In a deployment event, the sensingsystem sends an electrical signaltriggering a release of gas from theinflator. Gas from the inflator fills theairbag causing the bag to break out ofthe cover. The inflator, the airbag, andrelated hardware are all part of theairbag module.For airbag locations, see Where Are theAirbags? 0 75.How Does an AirbagRestrain?In moderate to severe frontal or nearfrontal collisions, even beltedoccupants can contact the steeringwheel or the instrument panel. Inmoderate to severe side collisions,even belted occupants can contact theinside of the vehicle.Airbags supplement the protectionprovided by safety belts bydistributing the force of the impactmore evenly over the occupant's body.Rollover capable roof-rail airbags aredesigned to help contain the head andchest of occupants in the outboardseating positions in the first andsecond rows. The rollover capableroof-rail airbags are designed to helpreduce the risk of full or partialejection in rollover events, althoughno system can prevent all suchejections.But airbags would not help in manytypes of collisions, primarily becausethe occupant's motion is not towardthose airbags. See When Should anAirbag Inflate? 0 77.Airbags should never be regarded asanything more than a supplement tosafety belts.What Will You See after anAirbag Inflates?After the frontal and seat-mountedside impact airbags inflate, theyquickly deflate, so quickly that somepeople may not even realize an airbaginflated. Roof-rail airbags may still beat least partially inflated for sometime after deployment. Somecomponents of the airbag module maybe hot for several minutes. Forlocation of the airbags, see Where Arethe Airbags? 0 75.The parts of the airbag that come intocontact with you may be warm, butnot too hot to touch. There may besome smoke and dust coming fromthe vents in the deflated airbags.Airbag inflation does not prevent thedriver from seeing out of thewindscreen or being able to steer thevehicle, nor does it prevent peoplefrom leaving the vehicle.
