2007 Chevrolet Tahoe Owner's Manual - Page 99

How Does an Airbag Restrain? In moderate to severe frontal or near frontal collisions, even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or the instrument panel. In moderate to severe side collisions, even belted occupants can contact the inside of the vehicle. Airbags supplement the protection provided by safety belts. Airbags distribute the force of the impact more evenly over the occupant's upper body, stopping the occupant more gradually. But the frontal airbags would not help you in many types of collisions, including rollovers, rear impacts, and many side impacts, primarily because an occupant's motion is not toward the airbag. Roof-mounted rollover airbags would not help you in many types of collisions, including many frontal or near frontal collisions, and rear impacts. Airbags 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 for the driver's and right front passenger's frontal airbags, and only in moderate to severe side collisions or rollovers for vehicles with roof-mounted rollover airbags. What Will You See After an Airbag Inflates? After a frontal airbag inflates, it quickly deflates, so quickly that some people may not even realize an airbag inflated. Roof-mounted rollover airbags may still be at least partially inflated minutes after the vehicle comes to rest. Some components of the airbag module - the steering wheel hub for the driver's airbag, the instrument panel for the right front passenger's airbag, and the area along the ceiling of the vehicle near the side windows for vehicles with roof-mounted side impact airbags - may be hot for a short time. The parts of the airbag that come into contact with you may be warm, but not too hot to touch. There may be some smoke and dust coming from the vents in the deflated airbags. 99