1995 Chevrolet Camaro Owner's Manual - Page 32

It is possible that in a crash only one of the two air bags in your vehicle will deploy. is rare, but canhappen This in a crash just severe enough to make an air bag inflate. In any particular crash, no one can say whether anair bag should have inflated simply because of damage the to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were. Inflation is determined by the angle of the impact and the vehicle's deceleration. Vehicle damage is only one indication of this. the instrument panel. The air bag supplements the protection provided by safety belts. Air bags distribute the force of the impact more evenlyover the occupant's upper body, stoppingthe 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 air bag. the Air bags should never be regarded as anything more than a supplement to safetybelts, and then only in moderate to severe frontal near-frontal collisions. or What makes an air bag inflate? In a frontal or near-frontal impact of sufficient severity, the air bag sensing systemdetects that the vehicle is suddenly stopping asa result of a crash. The sensing system triggers a chemical reaction of the sodium azide sealed in the inflator. The reaction produces nitrogen gas, which inflates the air bag. The inflator, air bag, and related hardware are all part of the air bag modules packed inside the steering wheel and in the instrument panel infront of the right front passenger. What will you see after an bag inflates? air After the air bag inflates, it quickly deflates. This occurs so quickly that some people may not evenrealize the air bag inflated. Some components of the air bag module in the steering wheel hubfor the driver's air bag, or the instrument panel for the right front passenger's bag, will be hot for ashort time, but the part of the bag that comes into contact with you will notbe hot to the touch. There will be some smoke and dust coming from vents in the deflated air bags. Air bag inflation will not preventthe driver from seeingor from being able to steer the vehicle, nor will it stop people from leaving the vehicle. How does an air bag restrain? In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions, even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or 1-22