FIAT Punto Evo - Manual (Page 142)

141
Front airbags may not be activated in the following situa-
tions:
❒ in collisions against very strangely shaped objects that
do not affect the front surface of the car (e.g. mudguard
collision against guard rail, piles of gravel etc.);
❒ jamming of the car underneath other vehicles or pro-
tective barriers (e.g. underneath a truck or a guard rail);
in this case, the bags would offer no additional pro-
tection with respect to the seat belt and their deploy-
ment is unnecessary. In these cases, non-deployment
of the airbag does not necessarily indicate a system mal-
function.
FRONT AIRBAGS
The car is fitted with front airbags for the driver and the
passenger, and with a knee bag on the driver’s side (where
provided).
The front driver/passenger airbags and the driver’s knee
bag (where provided) have been designed to protect the
occupants in the event of head-on crashes of medium/high
severity, by placing the cushion between the occupant and
the steering wheel or dashboard.
Non-activation in other types of crash (side-on collisions,
rear shunts, roll-overs, etc.) is therefore not a sign of sys-
tem malfunction.
An electronic control unit causes the bag to inflate, if nec-
essary, in the event of a head-on crash. The bag will inflate
instantaneously, placing itself between the front occupant’s
body and the structures which could cause injury. It will
deflate immediately afterwards.
The front driver/passenger airbags and the driver’s knee
bag (where provided) are not a replacement for, but rather
complement the use of, belts, which should always be
worn, as specified by law in Europe and most non-Euro-
pean countries.
The volume of the front airbags at maximum inflation fills
most of the space between the steering wheel and the dri-
ver and between the dashboard and the passenger.
In the event of an impact, someone not wearing a seat belt
could move forward and come into contact with a bag
which is still in the opening phase. The protection offered
by the bag is reduced in such a case.
KNOWING
YOUR
VEHICLE
SAFETY
STARTING
AND DRIVING
WARNING LIGHTS
AND MESSAGES
IN AN
EMERGENCY
SERVICING
AND CARE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
CONTENTS
Do not apply stickers or other objects on
the steering wheel, passenger side airbag
cover or upper side upholstery. Do not place ob-
jects (e.g. mobile phones) on the passenger side
dashboard because these could interfere with the
correct opening of the airbag and cause severe in-
jury to occupants.
WARNING
The airbags are not deployed in the event of minor colli-
sions (for which the withholding action of the seat belts is
sufficient). For this reason, the seat belt must be worn at
all times. In the case of side-on collisions, the seat belts hold
occupants in the correct position and prevent them from
being thrown out of the car by a very violent impact.
129-148 PUNTO FL EN 4ed 18-01-2010 12:26 Pagina 141