When should an air bag inflate?
An air bag is designed to inflate
in
a moderate to severe
frontal or near-frontal crash.
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 16 mph
(
14
to 26 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 the 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
how quickly the vehicle slows down
in
frontal or
near-frontal impacts.
The air bag system is designed
to
work properly under a
wide range
of
conditions, including off-road usage.
Observe safe driving speeds, especially on rough terrain.
As
always, wear your safety belt. See “Off-Road
Driving”
in
the Index for more tips
on
o.ff-road driving.
What makes an air bag inflate?
In
an impact of sufficient severity, the air bag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is
in
a
crash. The sensing
system triggers
a
release of gas from the inflator, which
inflates the air bag. The inflator, air bag and related
hardware are all part of the air bag modules 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. Air bags supplement 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, rear impacts and side impacts,
primarily because an occupant’s motion is not toward
those air bags.
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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