2003 GMC Sierra 1500 Pickup Owner's Manual - Page 68

Air Bag Systems This part explains the air bag system. Your vehicle has air bags - one air bag for the driver and another air bag for the right front passenger. Frontal air bags are designed to help reduce the risk of injury from the force of an inflating frontal air bag. But these air bags must inflate very quickly to do their job and comply with federal regulations. Here are the most important things to know about the air bag systems: I You can be severely injured or killed in a crash if you aren't wearing your safety belt even if you have air bags. Wearing your safety belt during a crash helps reduce your chance of hitting things inside the vehicle or beingejected from it. Air bags are designed to work with safety belts, but don't replace them.Air bags are designed to deploy only in moderate to severe frontal and near frontal crashes.They aren't designed to inflate at all in rollover, rear or low-speed frontal crashes, or in many side crashes. And, for some unrestrained occupants, air bags may provide less protection in frontal crashes than more forceful air bags have providedin the past. Everyone in your vehicle should wear a safety belt properly- whether or not there'san air bag for that person. - CAUTION: (Continued) 1-61