/.:
.
.
.i
..
’
Where
is
the air bag?
The driver’s air bag is in the middle of the steering
wheel. The right-front passenger’s air bag is located in
the instrument panel on the passenger’s side.
When
is
an air bag expected to inflate?
The air bag is designed to inflate in moderate to severe
frontal
or
near-frontal crashes. The air bag will only
inflate if the velocity of the impact is above the designed
threshold level.
When
impacting straight into
a
wall that
does not move
or
deform, the threshold level for most
GM
vehicles is between
9
and
15
mph
(14
and
23
km/h).
However, this velocity threshold depends on the
vehicle design and may be several miles-per-hour faster
or slower. In addition, this threshold velocity will be
considerably higher if the vehicle strikes an object such
as a parked car which will move and deform on impact.
The air bag is also not designed to inflate in rollovers,
side impacts, or rear impacts where the inflation would
provide no occupant protection benefit.
It is possible that in a crash, only one
of
the two air
bags in your Roadmaster will deploy. This is rare, but
can happen in a crash just severe enough to make an air
bag inflate.
In any particular crash, the determination of whether the
air bag should have inflated cannot be based solely on
the level
of
damage on the.vehicle(s). Inflation is
determined by the angle of the impact and the vehicle’s
deceleration, of which vehicle damage is only one
indication. Repair cost is not a good indicator of
whether an air bag should have deployed.
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