Specifications

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAR
39
Do not apply stickers or
other objects on the steer-
ing wheel and on the pas-
senger’s air bag cover. Do not put
objects on the dashboard on the
passenger’s side (e.g. cell phones)
because they may interfere with
the correct passenger’s air bag
opening and seriously injure the oc-
cupants of the car.
The driver’s and passenger’s front air bag
has been designed to improve the protec-
tion of a person wearing a seat belt.
Its volume at maximum inflation fills most
of the space between the steering wheel
and the driver and between the dashboard
and the passenger.
In the event of minor side crashes (for
which the restraining action of the seat belts
is sufficient), the air bags are not deployed.
Also in this case it is of vital importance to
wear the seat belts since in case of side
crash they guarantee proper positioning of
the occupant.
DRIVER’S FRONT AIR BAG
It consists of an instant-inflating cushion
contained in a special recess in the centre of
the steering wheel (fig. 50).
The front air bag (driver’s and passenger’s)
does not replace but is complementary to
the use of belts, which should always be
worn, as specified by law in Europe and
most non-European countries.
In the event of a crash a person that is not
wearing the seat belt moves forwards and
may come into contact with the cushion
while it is still opening. Under these cir-
cumstances the protection offered by the
cushion is reduced.
Front air bags may not be triggered in the
following conditions:
– collisions against highly deformable ob-
jects which do not concern the car front sur-
face (for example the bumper crashing
against the guard rail);
– wedging under other cars or protective
barriers (for example under a lorry or guard
rail);
as they do not offer any more protection
than the seat belts and therefore activation
would be inappropriate. Therefore the fail-
ure to be triggered does not mean that the
system is not working properly.
fig. 50
A0A0613b