2007 Volvo S80 Owner's Manual - Page 13

As the movement of the seats' occupants compresses the airbags, some of the gas is expelled at a controlled rate to provide better cushioning. Both seat belt tensioners also deploy, minimizing seat belt slack. The entire process, including inflation and deflation of the airbags, takes approximately one fifth of a second. The location of the front airbags is indicated by "SRS AIRBAG" embossed on the steering wheel pad and above the glove compartment, and by decals on both sun visors and on the front and far right side of the dash. The driver's side front airbag is folded and located in the steering wheel hub. The passenger's side front airbag is folded behind a panel located above the glove compartment. WARNING The airbags in the vehicle are designed to be a SUPPLEMENT to-not a replacement for-the three-point seat belts. For maximum protection, wear seat belts at all times. Be aware that no system can prevent all possible injuries that may occur in an accident. Never drive a vehicle with a steering wheel-mounted airbag with your hands on the steering wheel pad/airbag housing. The front airbags are designed to help prevent serious injury. Deployment occurs very quickly and with considerable force. During normal deployment and depending on variables such as seating position, one may experience abrasions, bruises, swellings, or other injuries as a result from deployment of one or both of the airbags. When installing any accessory equipment, make sure that the front airbag system is not damaged. Any interference in the system could cause malfunction. Front airbag deployment The front airbags are designed to deploy during certain frontal or front-angular collisions, impacts, or decelerations, depending on the crash severity, angle, speed 19 01 Safety Safety in the passenger compartment and object impacted. The airbags may also deploy in certain non-frontal collisions where rapid deceleration occurs. The SRS sensors, which trigger the front airbags, are designed to react to both the impact of the collision and the inertial forces generated by it, and to determine if the intensity of the collision is sufficient for the seat belt tensioners and/or airbags to be deployed. However, not all frontal collisions activate the front airbags.