1997 Buick Skylark Owner's Manual - Page 38

How does an air bag restrain? In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions, even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or the instrument panel.Ar bags supplement the protection i provided by safety belts.Ar bags distribute the force i of the impact more evenly over the occupant's upper body, stopping the occupant more gradually. But bags would air not help you in many types of collisions, including rollovers, rear impacts and side impacts, primarily because an occupant's motion is not toward those bags. Air ar i bags 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. When an air bag inflates, there is dust in ai the This dust could cause breathing problems for people with a history of asthma or other breathing trouble.To avoid this, everyone in the vehicle should get out soon as itis safe to doso. as If you have breathing problems but can't get out of the vehicle after an air bag inflates, then get fresh air by openinga window or door. What will you see after an air bag inflates? After an air bag inflates, quickly deflates,so quickly it that some people may not even realize the air bag inflated. Some components the air bag module in of the steering wheel hub the driver's air bag, or the for instrument panelfor the right front passenger's bag, will be hot for a short time.The parts of the bag that come into contact with you may be warm, but not too hot to touch. There will be some smoke and dust coming from vents inthe deflated air bags. Air bag inflation doesn't prevent the driver from seeing from being able to or steer the vehicle, nor does stop people from leaving it the vehicle. In many crashes severe enough to inflate an air bag, windshields are broken by vehicle deformation. Additional windshield breakage may also occur from the right front passenger air bag. Air bags are designed to inflate only once. After they inflate, you'll need some new parts your a r bag for i system. If you don't get them, the air bag system won't be there to help protect you another crash. in A new system will include air bag modules and possibly other parts. The service manual your for vehicle covers the need to replace other parts.