2006 Saab 9-5 Owner's Manual - Page 40

40 Safety How do I position the seat to leave room for the airbag to inflate? Don't have your seat too far forward. Recline the seat back to increase the distance between you and the airbag. For short drivers, special accessory pedal extensions are available through your Saab dealer. Airbags inflate extremely rapidly and with great force - to be fast enough to protect an adult in the seat. When do the front airbags inflate? The airbag will only be inflated under certain predetermined conditions in a moderate to severe frontal, or near-frontal crash, depending on such factors as the force and angle of the impact, the speed of the car on impact, and the resistance to deformation of the impacting object. The airbag can only be activated once in the same incident. Do not attempt to drive the car after an airbag has been inflated, even if it is possible. What won't trigger the front airbags? The airbag will not be activated in all front-end crashes. For instance, if the car has hit something relatively soft and yielding (e.g. a snow drift or a hedge) or a solid object at a low impact speed, the airbag will not necessarily be triggered. How loud is the inflation? The noise of the inflation is certainly loud, but it is very short-lived and will not damage your hearing. For a short time afterwards you could experience a buzzing noise in your ears. Most people who have experienced it cannot remember the noise of the inflation at all - all they remember is the noise of the crash. Can you still use a child seat in the front if a passenger airbag is installed? Definitely not! • Children 12 and under or shorter than 55 inches (140 cm) can be killed by the airbag. • The BACK SEAT is the SAFEST place for children. • NEVER put a child seat in the front. • Sit as far back as possible from the airbag. • Always use safety belts and child restraints. Frequently asked questions on function of airbags Do you still need to wear a safety belt if airbags are fitted? Yes, always! The airbag merely supplements the car's normal safety system. Moreover, the airbag will only be actuated in a moderate to severe frontal, or near-frontal crash, which means, of course, that it provides no protection in minor frontal crashes, major rear-end or side-on crashes or if the car rolls over. The safety belts help reduce the chance of the car occupants from being thrown around and injured or killed inside the car. But they also ensure that, if a crash occurs in which the airbags are inflated, the airbag will make the optimum contact with the occupant, i.e. square on from the front. If the occupant meets the airbag in an offset position, the protection afforded will be reduced. In addition, airbags provide no protection against a secondary impact occurring in the same incident. So there is no doubt about the benefit of wearing safety belts at all times. Do not sit too close to the airbag: it needs room to inflate. The airbag inflates very quickly and powerfully in order to protect an adult person, before they are thrown forward, in a serious frontal crash.