2012 GMC Sierra Owner's Manual - Page 95

Seats and Restraints rollover event, roof-rail airbag deployment is determined by the direction of the roll. 3-27 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. Frontal airbags distribute the force of the impact more evenly over the occupant's upper body, stopping the occupant more gradually. Seat‐mounted side impact and roof-rail airbags distribute the force of the impact more evenly over the occupant's upper body. Rollover capable roof-rail airbags are designed to help contain the head and chest of occupants in the outboard seating positions in the first and second rows. The rollover capable roof-rail airbags are designed to help reduce the risk of full or partial ejection in rollover events, although no system can prevent all such ejections. But airbags would not help in many types of collisions, primarily because the occupant's motion is not toward those airbags. See When Should an Airbag Inflate? on page 3‑25 for more information. Airbags should never be regarded as anything more than a supplement to safety belts. What Makes an Airbag Inflate? In a deployment event, the sensing system sends an electrical signal triggering a release of gas from the inflator. Gas from the inflator fills the airbag causing the bag to break out of the cover and deploy. The inflator, the airbag, and related hardware are all part of the airbag module. Frontal airbag modules are located inside the steering wheel and instrument panel. For vehicles with seat‐mounted side impact airbags, there are airbags modules in the side of the front seatbacks closest to the door. For vehicles with roof-rail airbags, there are airbag modules in the ceiling of the vehicle, near the side windows that have occupant seating positions. What Will You See after an Airbag Inflates? After the frontal airbags and seat-mounted side impact airbags inflate, they quickly deflate, so quickly that some people may not even realize an airbag inflated. Roof-rail airbags may still be at least partially inflated for some time after they deploy. Some components of the airbag module may be hot for several minutes. For location of the airbag modules, see What Makes an Airbag Inflate? on page 3‑27.