When Should An Airbag Inflate - Pontiac 2009 Vibe Owner's Manual

1-24 Seats and Restraints
If the vehicle has roof-rail airbags for
the driver, right front passenger, and
second row outboard passengers,
they are in the ceiling above the side
windows.
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CAUTION
If something is between an
occupant and an airbag, the
airbag might not inflate properly or
it might force the object into that
person causing severe injury or
even death. The path of an
inflating airbag must be kept
clear. Do not put anything
between an occupant and an
airbag, and do not attach or put
anything on the steering wheel
hub or on or near any other
airbag covering.
(Continued)
CAUTION (Continued)
Do not use seat accessories
that block the inflation path of a
seat-mounted side impact airbag.
Never secure anything to the roof
of a vehicle with roof-rail airbags
by routing a rope or tie down
through any door or window
opening. If you do, the path of an
inflating roof-rail airbag will be
blocked.
When Should an Airbag
Inflate?
Frontal airbags are designed to
inflate in moderate to severe frontal
or near-frontal crashes to help
reduce the potential for severe
injuries mainly to the driver or right
front passenger head and chest.
However, they are only designed
to inflate if the impact exceeds a
predetermined deployment
threshold. Deployment thresholds
are used to predict how severe a
crash is likely to be in time for the
airbags to inflate and help restrain
the occupants.
Whether the frontal airbags will or
should deploy is not based on
how fast the vehicle is traveling.
It depends largely on what you hit,
the direction of the impact,
and how quickly your vehicle
slows down.
Frontal airbags may inflate at
different crash speeds. For example:
•
If the vehicle hits a stationary
object, the airbags could inflate at
a different crash speed than if the
vehicle hits a moving object.
•
If the vehicle hits an object that
deforms, the airbags could inflate
at a different crash speed than if
the vehicle hits an object that
does not deform.