2003 Mazda Protege Owner's Manual - Page 47

J39L_EA.book Page 36 Saturday, June 8, 2002 5:35 PM Essential Safety Equipment SRS Air Bags Supplemental Restraint Systems (SRS) Precautions Read this owner's manual carefully to verify what air bags (driver-side air bag, passengerside air bag, side air bags) are equipped in your vehicle. The front and side supplemental restraint systems (SRS) include 4 air bags (verify "SRS AIR BAG" location indicator marks). They are located in: • The steering wheel hub • The passenger side dashboard • The outboard sides of the front seatbacks These systems operate independently depending on the type of accident encountered; if you have side air bags, the side air bags are not likely to deploy on both sides in the same accident because a vehicle is not often hit from both sides. The side air bags work together but they and the frontal air bag system will not normally deploy during the same type of accident unless a combination of frontal and side impacts occur. The air bag supplemental restraint systems are designed to provide only supplemental protection only in the front seats in a few modes, so seat belts become important in the following ways: Without seat belt usage, the air bags cannot provide adequate protection during an accident. Seat belt usage is necessary to: • Keep the passenger away from an inflating air bag. • Reduce the possibility of injuries during an accident that is not designed for air bag inflation, such as roll-over or rear impact. • Reduce the possibility of injuries in frontal or side collisions that are not severe enough to activate the air bags. • Reduce the possibility of being thrown from your vehicle. • Reduce the possibility of injuries to lower body and legs during an accident because the air bags provide no protection to these parts. • Hold the driver in a position which allows better control of the vehicle. 2-36 Form No. 8Q94-EA-02G