1997 Oldsmobile Achieva Owner's Manual - Page 33

How does an air bag restrain? In moderate to severe frontal near-frontal collisions, or even belted occupants can contactthe steering wheelor the instrument panel. Air bags supplement protection the of provided by safety belts. Air bags distribute the force the impact more evenly over the occupant's upper body, stopping the occupant more gradually. But air bags would not help you in many types of collisions, including rollovers, rear impacts andside impacts, primarily because an occupant's motionis not toward those air bags. Air bags should never be regarded as anything more than a supplement to safety belts, and thenonly in moderate to severe frontalor near-frontal collisions. What will you seeafter an air bag inflates? After an air bag inflates, it quickly deflates, so quickly that some people may not even realize the air bag inflated. Some components of the air bag module in the steering wheel hub for the driver's airbag, or the instrument panel for theright 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 in the deflated airbags. Air bag inflation doesn't prevent the driver from seeing orfrom being able to steer the vehicle, nor does it stop people from leaving the vehicle. When an air bag inflates, there is dust in the air. 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 as soon as it is safe to do so. If you have breathing problems but can't get out of the vehicle after an air bag inflates, then get fresh air by opening a window or door. In many crashes severeenough to inflate an air bag, windshields are broken by vehicle deformation. Additional windshield breakage may also occur from the right front passenger air bag. 0 Air bags are designed to inflate only once. After they inflate, you'll need some new parts for your air bag system. If you don't get them, the air bag system won't be there to help protect you in another crash. A new system will include air bag modules and possibly other parts. The service manual for your vehicle covers the need to replace otherparts.