How Does an Air Bag Restrain?In moderate to severe frontal or near frontal collisions,even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel orthe instrument panel. In moderate to severe sidecollisions, even belted occupants can contact the insideof the vehicle. The air bag supplements the protectionprovided by safety belts. Air bags distribute the force ofthe impact more evenly over the occupant’s upperbody, stopping the occupant more gradually. But thefrontal air bags would not help you in many typesof collisions, including rollovers, rear impacts, and manyside impacts, primarily because an occupant’s motionis not toward the air bag. Side impact air bags would nothelp you in many types of collisions, including frontalor near frontal collisions, rollovers, and rear impacts,primarily because an occupant’s motion is not towardthose air bags. Air bags should never be regardedas anything more than a supplement to safety belts, andthen only in moderate to severe frontal or near-frontalcollisions for the driver’s and right front passenger’sfrontal air bags, and only in moderate to severeside collisions for the side impact air bags.What Will You See After an Air BagInflates?After the air bag inflates, it quickly deflates, so quicklythat some people may not even realize the air baginflated. Some components of the air bag module – thesteering wheel hub for the driver’s air bag, theinstrument panel for the right front passenger’s bag,the side of the seatback closest to the door for theseat-mounted side impact air bags and the areaalong the ceiling of your vehicle near the sidewindows – will be hot for a short time. The parts of thebag that come into contact with you may be warm,but not too hot to touch. There will be some smoke anddust coming from the vents in the deflated air bags.Air bag inflation doesn’t prevent the driver from seeingor being able to steer the vehicle, nor does it stoppeople from leaving the vehicle.1-58
