Rollovers: ; When front airbags should not deploy; Minor frontal crashes: - Page 57

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Airbags

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Front Airbags (SRS)

Safe Driving

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When front airbags should not deploy

Minor frontal crashes: 

Front airbags were designed to supplement seat belts and 

help save lives, not to prevent minor scrapes, or even broken bones that might occur 
during a less than moderate-to-severe frontal crash.

Side impacts: 

Front airbags can provide protection when a sudden deceleration 

causes a driver or front passenger to move toward the front of the vehicle. Side 
airbags and side curtain airbags have been specifically designed to help reduce the 
severity of injuries that can occur during a moderate-to-severe side impact which 
can cause the driver or passenger to move toward the side of the vehicle.

Rear impacts: 

Head restraints and seat belts are your best protection during a rear 

impact. Front airbags cannot provide any significant protection and are not designed 
to deploy in such collisions.

Rollovers: 

In a rollover, your best form of protection is a seat belt or, if your vehicle 

is equipped with a rollover sensor, both a seat belt and a side curtain airbag. Front 
airbags, however, are not designed to deploy in a rollover as they would provide 
little if any protection.

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When front airbags deploy with little or no visible damage

Because the airbag system senses sudden deceleration, a strong impact to the 
vehicle framework or suspension might cause one or more of the airbags to deploy. 
Examples include running into a curb, the edge of a hole, or other low fixed object 
that causes a sudden deceleration in the vehicle chassis. Since the impact is 
underneath the vehicle, damage may not be readily apparent.

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When front airbags may not deploy, even though exterior damage 
appears severe

Since crushable body parts absorb crash energy during an impact, the amount of 
visible damage does not always indicate proper airbag operation. In fact, some 
collisions can result in severe damage but no airbag deployment because the airbags 
would not have been needed or would not have provided protection even if they 
had deployed.