When
should
an air bag inflate?
The air bag is designed to inflate in moderate to severe frontal or
near-frontal crashes. The air bag
will
inflate only if the impact speed is
above the system’s designed “threshold level.” If your vehicle goes straight
into a wall that doesn’t move or deform, the threshold level is about
9
to
15
mph
(14
to
24
km/h). The threshold level can vary, however, with
specific vehicle design,
so
that
it
can be somewhat above
or
below this
range. If your vehicle strikes something that
will
move or deform, such as
a parked car, the threshold level
will
be higher. The air bag is not
designed to inflate
in
rollovers, side impacts, or rear impacts, because
inflation would not help thc occupant.
In any particular crash,
no
one can say whether an air bag should have
inflated simply because
of
the
damage to a vehicle or because
of
what
the
repair costs were. Inflation is determined by the angle
of
the impact and
the vehicle’s deceleration. Vehicle damage
is
only one indication
of
this.
What makes an air bag inflate?
In a frontal or near-frontal impact
of
sufficient severity, the air bag
sensing system detects that the vehicle
is
suddenly stopping as a result of
a
crash. The sensing system triggers a chemical reaction
of
the sodium azide
sealed in the inflator. The reaction produces nitrogen gas, which inflates
the air bag. The inflator, air bag, and related hardware are all part
of
the
air
bag
modules packed inside the steering wheel and
in
the instrument
panel in front of the right front passenger.
How
does an air bag restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions, even belted
occupants can contact the steering wheel or the instrument panel. The air
bag supplements the protection provided by safety belts. Air bags
distribute the force
of
the impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper
body, stopping the occupant more gradually. But air bags would not help
you
in
many types of collisions, including rollovers and rear and side
impacts, primarily because an occupant’s motion
is
not toward the air bag.
Air bags should never be regarded as anything more than a supplement to
safety belts, and then only in moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal
collisions.
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